Easy Lessons (in a hard world)
a poem and an invitation
Greeting from the Unraveling Mid-Atlantic Tour. As I sit down to write this week’s Wednesdays at the Well, I am in Wilmington, Delaware. Preparing to head south to Rehoboth Beach for another performance of the New Laces in Old Shoes: Unraveling the Knots of Church and Scripture poetry show. And then a few stops in Maryland.
The tour continues to be amazing and more wonderful than I imagined it could be. I began with a poetry show in Newark, Delaware and then preached twice in Wilmington on Sunday. Each space, and the crowd that filled it, was unique and diverse and fabulous. As much as I love sharing my story through poetry and sermons, what I am coming to love the most is meeting new people and learning pieces of their stories.
Yesterday as I enjoyed a very hot afternoon walk, I thought and later scribbled on a scrap of paper, “I didn’t expect this to feel so easy.”
Easy is an interesting word. One that I have a complicated relationship with. One that feels at times out of place in a world that is so often so hard. Old messages and lessons about easy returned.
No one said life would be easy.
The harder the trial, the greater the reward.
If it’s easy it’s not worth the effort.
Easy come, easy go.
You think you’ve got it hard, what about______?
And then I started a new list. Naming lessons I’ve learned the easy way. Things that make me smile. Bring me joy. Soften my heart. Lighten my spirit. And that list became a poem that I share as an invitation (scroll down). As you read, I invite you to think about things you’ve experienced and lessons you have learned the easy way. And to keep them close, especially when the hard moments come.
I’ll let you know what else I learn on the second half of the tour. And please let me know what easy lessons come to you.
Water-fully and Easily Yours,
Rebecca & 10 Camels
Easy Lessons (in a hard world)
©Rebecca Wilson, 2024
snowflakes tastes like coconut if you think about pineapples as they fall
blowing bubbles made from dish soap is like making dreams come true
if you try to fly your kite into a cloud you’ll never have long enough string
sledding feels like soaring
even before you hit the bump at the bottom of the slope
watching sand castles wash away like magic
is more fun than building them
hot sand cools off the deeper you dig
dolphins don’t have to get out of the water when it rains
or wait an hour after they eat to swim
or come inside when the street lights turn on
skateboards are like surf boards on pavement without the salt to burn your eyes
sandwiches cut diagonally taste better
and so do french fries dipped in chocolate milkshakes
first love tastes like strawberry ice cream
scooped from a cartoon of neapolitan
at midnight when you’re supposed to be sleeping
no matter how many times you count the stars there’s always more
the moon listens to all your songs
and the sun shines them back to you
embracing yourself feels like the slow climb up the rails to the top of a roller coaster
living is the wild ride that begins
when the conductor checks your height
and says yes with a wink and a smile
you’re tall enough to get on
We have learned that “easier is not better”…why not? If we are open to life, experiences CAN be easy! I LOVED the poem. As a singer, the lines that stood out to me: “the moon listens to all your songs and the sun shines them back to you.” How beautiful. Thanks!