[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]<\/p>\n
I had to pull my father’s dusty old cane out of the closet this week. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] I had to pull my father’s dusty old cane out of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"I had to pull my father\u2019s old, dusty cane out of the closet this week.\r\nI\u2019ve had shooting pain in my left leg,\r\nand I haven\u2019t walked my beloved road for days.\r\nThat \u201cdamn cane\u201d that my father cussed out so often,\r\nhas helped this lame goat\r\nhobble around all week. Right now, I\u2019m reeling a bit\r\nfrom some body issues: a 3mm kidney stone that hospitalized me,\r\na gall bladder full of stones, a tooth that broke\r\nwhile eating pasta which wasn\u2019t even al dente<\/em>,\r\nand now the leg. In the Middle Ages they used to say, Momento Mori<\/em>:\r\nRemember Death.\r\nThis saying is not meant to be morbid, but rather\r\nit\u2019s intended to remind us of the shortness and impermanence\r\nof this current incarnation, so that we can wake up\r\nto live, and love, every moment \u2014\r\nno matter how painful or how blissful. The Tibetans call it:\r\n\u201cLiving in the Mirror of Death.\u201d\r\nCarlos Castenada\u2019s Don Juan always insisted that\r\nwithout the awareness of death, everything was ordinary and trivial.\r\nTo realize that you have little time,\r\nand no time for crap \u2014 what a wonderful gift!\r\nSo instead of an hour on the road, I shamble down to the fire pit\r\nand sit there for a while just bathing in the kosmos\r\nand the silence. Just tasting the blessing as the clouds\r\nsail by in a lapis sky, high above the big green wall of sycamore, beech,\r\noak, bald cypress and weeping willow, that\r\nline the dry creek bed down below. And I just smile,\r\nfeeling more alive than ever, grateful to be gripping my father\u2019s cane.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3695"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3699,"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695\/revisions\/3699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/looseleafhollow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
I’ve had shooting pain in my left leg,
and I haven’t walked my beloved road for days.
That “damn cane” that my father cussed out so often,
has helped this lame goat
hobble around all week. Right now, I’m reeling a bit
from some body issues: a 3mm kidney stone that hospitalized me,
a gall bladder full of stones, a tooth that broke
while eating pasta which wasn’t even al dente<\/em>,
and now the leg. In the Middle Ages they used to say, Momento Mori<\/em>:
Remember Death.
This saying is not meant to be morbid, but rather
it’s intended to remind us of the shortness and impermanence
of this current incarnation, so that we can wake up
to live, and love, every moment —
no matter how painful or how blissful. The Tibetans call it:
“Living in the Mirror of Death.”
Carlos Castenada’s Don Juan always insisted that
without the awareness of death, everything was ordinary and trivial.
To realize that you have little time,
and no time for crap — what a wonderful gift!
So instead of an hour on the road, I shamble down to the fire pit
and sit there for a while just bathing in the kosmos
and the silence. Just tasting the blessing as the clouds
sail by in a lapis sky, high above the big green wall of sycamore, beech,
oak, bald cypress and weeping willow, that
line the dry creek bed down below. And I just smile,
feeling more alive than ever, grateful to be gripping my father’s cane.<\/p>\n