Gift
by Czeslaw MiloszOriginal Language Polish
A day so happy.
Fog lifted early I worked in the garden.
Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers.
There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess.
I knew no man worth my envying him.
Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.
To think that once I was the same man didn't embarrass me.
In my body I felt no pain.
On straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.
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/ Image by Christine Tutunjian /
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A moment of pure, natural bliss.
Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers.
There is such relief for the spirit in the lines--
There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess.
I knew no man worth my envying him.
Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.
We imagine that there is so much to do -- to provide for ourselves, to ornament our lives, to right wrongs -- but they can be a terrible burden. The burden is not in the effort of accomplishment; rather, it is because we have taken the joy and the wholeness that is inherent and always present within ourselves and we have externalized it. We tell ourselves, "I can experience happiness and rest when I make this happen or when I have corrected that." But this and that are never fully attained, so we strive relentlessly while depriving ourselves of the fulfillment that is our birthright.
All that can be healed with a holy moment, a quiet moment in the garden at dawn with the fog lifting.
In my body I felt no pain.
On straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.
Have a beautiful morning!
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