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Sleeping with bread: Lessons from an old tree

Photo of me loving a huge tree on the coast of Lake Chautauqua on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution.

Lessons from an old tree

"Encased in marble, the letters were old.
The spelling was odd, but not to far off to be told.
The "U's" were exchanged for the letter "v" -
the reason for this is far past what I can see.

Discomfort, confusion, frustration and fear
are fellows that hang around letters hard to hear.
Their message is odd and hard to grasp;
like something that made sense in years that have passed.

Moving down a path where the shade is just right,
the breeze is blowing and still-green leaves dance in sunlight.
A fountain flows freely in the midst of this place,
with Lilly pads floating in a pool of water with incredible grace.

At the end of the path there was an enormous old tree,
with branches reaching high even with all the age we could see.
It stood proudly there in this place it had grown,
half-facing the water and half-facing the stone.

This tree has wholeness in the place that it stands,
even though it's surroundings are half-water/half-land.
Fullness, beauty and purpose can be found;
in the spaces of paradox and unpredictable ground."

T.L. Eastman September 11"


Sleeping with Bread is a Monday Meme. Pick one of the examen prompts listed and write on that topic in regard to the last week of your life. You are free to post a link to your blog post here in the comments below or at the host page "Sleeping with Bread".
Here is the list of prompts to choose from: You can also phrase the question in any of the following ways:

For what am I most grateful? Least grateful?
When did I give and receive the most love? The least love?
When did I feel most alive? Most drained of life?
When did I have the greatest sense of belonging? Least sense of belonging?
When was I most free? Least free?
When was I most creative? Least creative?
When did I feel most connected? Least connected?
When did I feel most fully myself? Least myself?
When did I feel most whole? Most fragmented?
In this photo, the marble sign has the u's replaced with v's - If you know the reason, leave me a comment. Thanks for helping to solve this mystery.

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