We moved to the Peaceable Kingdom at the summer solstice of 2020. I came home in early February and told my husband that we needed to start moving immediately, and that if we didn’t it wasn’t going to happen. I got my cancer diagnosis about a week after we moved in, so I think that my premonition was correct. There are many things I love about our home, and I feel very blessed we managed to find it, but one thing that particularly strikes me is the window behind the sink in the kitchen.
The kitchen in our house resembles the one in my childhood home, in terms of layout at least (though our appliances are not avocado green, thank goodness). I wasn’t conscious of it when we first saw the house, but I can clearly see it now. The bar where I used to sit when my mother cooked, the stove, the sink… and the window looking over the sink. She would handwash the dishes, standing on one leg in what yoga calls tree pose, and watch me play outside. Now I can stand at the sink, washing pots or vegetables and look out at the green world. I can also do tree pose, but not as gracefully as she could, and I risk dropping glasses when I try.
I know we are in a very challenging place right now. So many of the things we look out at — through the windows of our phones or screens or just around us in life — are not what we want to see. So to find a place where I can look out and see that green: the dog wood, the hummingbird feeder, the giant cherry tree… that’s a blessing. Not everyone can have a house with a window behind the kitchen sink, but everyone can turn their eyes to something green, no matter how small. Our friends the weeds find every crack in the cement and sometimes I think it’s for exactly this purpose… to be seen in all their tenacious glory.
So find a window (in your house, in your perspective, in your frame of reference) where you can see a bit of green. Where you can see a good memory or a present gratitude or just something beautiful.
…Tree pose is optional.
A couple of reminders:
- The MAGIC Goals course is kicking off next week (in case you need help getting to your window).
- I talk about magic every week over at my completely free substack.
- You can also follow me on instagram or tiktok as the cool kids apparently do.
