letting go

 

Rocket is so glad he can let go of January. He had decided to go with the flow and have a dry January.

What exactly have you given up? I asked him. Well cocktails of course. I've had to give up my Singa - paw - sling and just  stick to water. (Rocket thinks he belongs to a gentleman's club so this must have been particularly hard for him. No Alabama slammers either for a whole month.)

Nancy said Rocket had persuaded her to do dry January too and had given up drinking Whisker Sours. I told them both that indeed letting go of things can be very hard. When I broke my hip and leg a while ago - knocked over by one of the big Irish wolfhounds I knew I had to let her go as I was unable to look after her properly. I took succour from a poem by Mary Oliver who says that to live in the world you must be able to do three things; to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your life depends on it; and when the time comes to let it go. to let it go.

When I sadly knew I'd have to let her go I printed this poem out and pinned it to the wall above her bed. This is a dog who had eaten most of the cushions, my phone, my shoes, my prescription sun glasses, my address book and quite a few meals not meant for her. She ate the poem.

Ghost Pocket appears through the wall.

When I let go of what I am I become what I might be. when I let go of what I have, I receive what I need. He said rolling onto his back and kicking his heels.

Lao Tzu said that I told him he's up there with you too is he?

Yes we go back a long way. He was a legendary Chinese philosopher and a central figure in Chinese culture. Ghost Pocket glares at me before twitching his whiskers. He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.

Ah .... I begin but the Ghost Pocket has wandered off before saying to me over his shoulder. 

You're not permanent.

Jackdaw doesn't seem to have anything to give up but has decided to take things up instead - like helping out in the polytunnel. He really hasn't been much help as for every seed I put in he takes one out when I'm looking the other way. 

He wants to take up with the four jackdaws living on our chimney where every year they bring up more jackdaws but they haven't accepted him yet. Of course like Mrs Magpie who turned out to be Mr Magpie Jack may well be Jacqueline .....

Just calling him Jackdaw seems the safest bet and anyway I don't want to impose a name on him/her he doesn't like. I've only named two birds - the first rook I ever rescued I called Caw-nelia(see what I did there) and the second one Quigley because I love that name.

And Geoffrey has let go of possibly being a duck or a hen and struts around now

as a cock - crowing contentedly - sometimes before anyone can deny anyone three times (check out Jesus's speech to Paul - see the Bible Matthew 26.34)

let it go

e.e.cummings

let it go - the

smashed word broken

open vow or

the oath cracked length

wise- let it go

was sworn to

        go

let them go - the

truthful liars and

the false fair friends

and the boths and

neithers - you must let them go they

were born

    to go 

let all go - the

big small middling

tall bigger really

the biggest and all

things - let all go 

       dear

so comes love