Learning to be

Yesterday we played in leaves and climbed trees.

In one sense I did not use my time well yesterday - I spent 2.5 hours at the MCC sale, I visited a farmer's market, I slept the afternoon away, I played in leaves.

I did no homework.

But then I think of words, of poetry, of

I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.

I think of

The literature of illumination reveals this above all: although [the gift of seeing] comes to those who wait for it, it is always, even to the most practiced and adept, a gift and total surprise.

I think of the miracle of passive voice, the joy of learning to be, the grace of living in the present tense.

I think that yesterday, I lived just as I needed. As Annie Dillard said, I held on for dearer life; I live[d] as I should.