"So remember to look in the sky at the birds in flight, smell the grass in the air after it's been mowed, look for the Big Dipper in the evening sky, skim flat rocks across the pond and when you see an enormous tree, think to yourself, wow,imagine all the life and history that tree has seen"
- Coleen McGeachey
I've recently received a blog comment and several emails regarding my Day 19 (2/7/10) tribute to Bob McGeachey. The things that have been said in the comment and emails have struck a cord with me. I leave it for you to determine if they do with you.
A piece of Coleen McGeachey's comment to the blog is quoted above. In another email, Jeff Thoreck, sent a story from a recent day of his. Jeff is the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. McGeachey. Jeff wrote to me that he was in his yard with his wife and daughter when he looked up to see a hawk flying over head. He thought of what his fathers response would be to a hawk flying over head. He said his father would stop everyone from what they are doing and make sure everyone else was viewing and appreciating what he was.
I left Boston 26 days ago. In that time, I have dealt with new experiences and new emotions. It's easy to have all of that when you leave a routine and do something that you have never done before. With Coleen and Jeff''s reflections and at this stage of my journey/adventure, something has developed into a significant and provoking thought:
- Take time to enjoy the simple things in life. They can sometimes be the most powerful.
Coleen's words in the quote of the day are a reflection of how her husband lived his life. He appreciated the simple things. Jeff's encounter with the hawk flying over head and his thought process was powerful. I have enclosed a picture above that I had taken a few days before my exchanges with Coleen and Jeff. It was a picture of an elk, roadside, that I did a dangerous uturn for just to snap that picture. To some it is just a picture of an animal. To me, it was a simple shot of something (wildlife) I appreciate and rarely get to see. It was simple in nature and powerful in imagery.
Read the quote a few times over. You have all done bits and pieces of it. I think the question is, have you (and I) done it enough? Or is life too busy and chaotic to stop and take time to look at the stars? I'll never forget being young and on the back porch of the McGeachey home. We looked, looked and looked...until we final saw one. A shooting star. My mind ran a million different ways after it happened. That was powerful. I suppose being young was simple in general. But it does not mean we cannot tap into that simplicity and remember (or learn) to appreciate the simple things. Like Bob McGeachey did.
From a place closer to the stars....good night from Telluride.
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