Thank you, Kathleen, from the deepest reaches of my diamond-heart. "Upend"! Yes! Love that word, it's just perfect. And I know I'm saying this all the time, but... I feel just the same about you... xox
Wonderful Mary. The poem made me smile and the small print at the bottom made me laugh!
I am a recently converted fan of Nietszche (as in i had never read him before). The ubermensch concept may be a little strong for some, but man he understood fearless commitment to freedom!
And also the overblown orientation to certificates, periodical reports et al.
I’d like to sign up for the job you are offering. I do have a question though - how big is the company?
So elegantly written, Mary. I would offer a more mundane word--the work of love is maintenance. All living things require maintenance or they bite you in the ass: pets, houses, relationships, yards, bodies, towns, minds. Constant care and feeding of the soft, hungry body. Endless bed remaking, dish washing, repair of creaky old plumbing. Neighborhood curmudgeons to sweet talk out of their belligerence. Lonely old ladies to listen to. A different point of view to read and consider.
Daily maintenance of the home and relationships is usually women's work and unglamorous. The modern term is emotional labor. Men like projects to build and create new. Don't we all? Going back to my theme, I'd say the domestic male is tonic masculinity, not the drama of the big self-sacrifice in the face of violence. It's seeing what needs to be done and choosing, again and again, to put active love into the home and family, without resentment but with gratitude.
There are few people as well poised as you, Mary, to reclaim what's tonic in masculinity. It's women who coined toxic to identify something real that we experienced. Men are using my phrase to deny that reality, not differentiate from it. If you ever felt so inclined, please take it and grow it.
Thanks, Tereza. You are eminently correct in your practical (as always!) take on the work of love. How we show up in the world can be a manifestation of love, and often is -- yet it is not always the case. Speaking from my own experience, sometimes we take care of others out of duty or heightened responsibility... which CAN, in turn, become an act of love. But not always.
I believe that cultivating a relationship with soul-self is primary to all other relationships, and that everything good springs from that -- including the roles we play in society, and the work we choose to do, whether we are female or male.
I so appreciate your thoughts, and the faith you have in me. You're a gem. xox
There's a parody of that Bruno Mars song, Grenade. Original lyrics:
What you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya
Throw my hand on a blade for ya
I'd jump in front of a train for ya
You know I'd do anything for ya
Oh oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya baby
But you won't do the same
The parody is from a woman's pov on whether he'd take out the garbage for her, wash the dishes, join a book club or make dinner. It's not the grand gesture of dying for someone else that's love, it's the small gestures of living every day. And yes, it's all about HOW that gesture is done, as you know.
Can imagine the eyes of some corporate lawyer for Goldman Sachs scanning your words, and calculating if a profit is to be made by outsourcing consumption and regurgitation to a 2nd rate wordsmith or an A.I. web crawler. Fingers crossed that you will always be one step ahead of 'em.
Fingers crossed again Mary, praying poetry is never reduced to A.I. prompting.
Hmm ... but now that's got me wondering. A combination of prompting and poetry might make for a better question than answer, a better request than response. 😄
Labour of love is priceless and I’m so glad you wrote an homage for it. Mothers get it immediately. So the theatre folk. Any work that isn’t a transactional relationship with the world but the world benefits by it anyway speaks to my heart.
This made me laugh aloud: “and no ability to,
on occasion,
lift up to twenty-five pounds.”
And so did the last line. Equal opportunity employer, indeed!
LOVEly and wise and welcome.
The work of love takes a lifetime, it will challenge us, reward us, upend us, deepen and open us.
Maybe in the end, it's the only work worth doing. Fortunately it announces itself in a myriad of ways, like this poem.
Thank you for the elevation and grounding at once. You're a love, Mary.
xoxo
Thank you, Kathleen, from the deepest reaches of my diamond-heart. "Upend"! Yes! Love that word, it's just perfect. And I know I'm saying this all the time, but... I feel just the same about you... xox
😘
Wonderful Mary. The poem made me smile and the small print at the bottom made me laugh!
I am a recently converted fan of Nietszche (as in i had never read him before). The ubermensch concept may be a little strong for some, but man he understood fearless commitment to freedom!
And also the overblown orientation to certificates, periodical reports et al.
I’d like to sign up for the job you are offering. I do have a question though - how big is the company?
I'm so glad, Michael!
Just to clarify... I'm not offering the job, I'm just the amanuensis. From what I hear, though, the company's quite large and growing all the time 😂
Excellent. And now I’ve learned a new word today too!
And since my first message, I did a little research: apparently there is also a great phalanx of angels involved in the enterprise.
Looks good!!
Yes, quite a team has already assembled. :-)
Love love love this ❤️. Thank you 🙏
You're so welcome, Charlotte. Lovely to hear from you... xox
So elegantly written, Mary. I would offer a more mundane word--the work of love is maintenance. All living things require maintenance or they bite you in the ass: pets, houses, relationships, yards, bodies, towns, minds. Constant care and feeding of the soft, hungry body. Endless bed remaking, dish washing, repair of creaky old plumbing. Neighborhood curmudgeons to sweet talk out of their belligerence. Lonely old ladies to listen to. A different point of view to read and consider.
Daily maintenance of the home and relationships is usually women's work and unglamorous. The modern term is emotional labor. Men like projects to build and create new. Don't we all? Going back to my theme, I'd say the domestic male is tonic masculinity, not the drama of the big self-sacrifice in the face of violence. It's seeing what needs to be done and choosing, again and again, to put active love into the home and family, without resentment but with gratitude.
There are few people as well poised as you, Mary, to reclaim what's tonic in masculinity. It's women who coined toxic to identify something real that we experienced. Men are using my phrase to deny that reality, not differentiate from it. If you ever felt so inclined, please take it and grow it.
Thanks, Tereza. You are eminently correct in your practical (as always!) take on the work of love. How we show up in the world can be a manifestation of love, and often is -- yet it is not always the case. Speaking from my own experience, sometimes we take care of others out of duty or heightened responsibility... which CAN, in turn, become an act of love. But not always.
I believe that cultivating a relationship with soul-self is primary to all other relationships, and that everything good springs from that -- including the roles we play in society, and the work we choose to do, whether we are female or male.
I so appreciate your thoughts, and the faith you have in me. You're a gem. xox
There's a parody of that Bruno Mars song, Grenade. Original lyrics:
What you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya
Throw my hand on a blade for ya
I'd jump in front of a train for ya
You know I'd do anything for ya
Oh oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for ya baby
But you won't do the same
The parody is from a woman's pov on whether he'd take out the garbage for her, wash the dishes, join a book club or make dinner. It's not the grand gesture of dying for someone else that's love, it's the small gestures of living every day. And yes, it's all about HOW that gesture is done, as you know.
Good one Mary.
Can imagine the eyes of some corporate lawyer for Goldman Sachs scanning your words, and calculating if a profit is to be made by outsourcing consumption and regurgitation to a 2nd rate wordsmith or an A.I. web crawler. Fingers crossed that you will always be one step ahead of 'em.
Cheers
That's hilarious, Steve. If all my words do is feed into AI's amalgamation of human thought, then I'm okay with that. Homeopathy works! 😊
Fingers crossed again Mary, praying poetry is never reduced to A.I. prompting.
Hmm ... but now that's got me wondering. A combination of prompting and poetry might make for a better question than answer, a better request than response. 😄
It might! I wrote about poetry and AI in this: https://marypoindextermclaughlin.substack.com/p/art-vs-ai?utm_source=publication-search
At the time, ChatGpt's ability to write poetry sucked. Maybe it has learned since then? I kind of doubt it... or maybe that's what I want to believe.
no "monetary" benefits but ain't no bigger benefit package on Earth! 💖
a little more of it from my own favorite childhood philosopher:
https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/03/30/love-is-walking-hand-in-hand-schulz-peanuts/
and...
https://tinyurl.com/3r9bcmtu
sendin' some yer way back! 💖
Big sigh of delight over here, reading through that sweet masterpiece of Schultz's. Thanks for that, Daisy!
I love it...and I love your work!
From. my "bright diamond cave" to yours, Mary - with Love. Mine is Pink. :) I Love your poem. 💗
Pink. Of COURSE. 🪷 Sending love right back. xox
Labour of love is priceless and I’m so glad you wrote an homage for it. Mothers get it immediately. So the theatre folk. Any work that isn’t a transactional relationship with the world but the world benefits by it anyway speaks to my heart.
This made me laugh aloud: “and no ability to,
on occasion,
lift up to twenty-five pounds.”
And so did the last line. Equal opportunity employer, indeed!
Thanks, T! "work that isn’t a transactional relationship with the world but the world benefits by it anyway" is the perfect way to describe it.
Glad it made you laugh! Mission accomplished. 😊
It’s a good job we can have a good job. 💕
My heart joins in the work, both inner and outer🙏🏻Thank you, Mary💜May love and peace prevail.
Right with you. Amen, sister!
beautifully written.
Really? I need encouragement and words like this! Life gets bumpy
and we spend so much time struggling to stay on our "raft", the fatigue makes me cranky.
Reading this makes me feel like I am taking a shower in assurance and refreshed to not lose focus.
So glad to hear, Rosemary. Thank you for letting me know!
Beautiful meditation on our being and who we are becoming. More of who we were meant to be. Elegance and grace in that writing.
Deeply appreciated, Wesley. 🙏🏼
You're THAT Wesley!! Duh and yay! So happy you're here 😊