This is my first reading of any of your works. “Moved,” might be one descriptor. I particularly resonated with “… I would gladly follow through the shimmer, I would follow without hesitation, I would reach out and pull myself through.” That brought to mind the (usually) older couples who have shared their lives and loves for decades, half centuries. It seems once the first of the couple passes into their next existence, the second shortly follows.
Thank you so much for Gary, and I'm very grateful you've taken the time to read my writing. You're so very welcome to read any of the other essays and stories on The Crow which I hope you can find something to resonate with.
I was thinking, when I wrote about "following through the shimmer", about the power and reality of love, and the way that our atomised, apparently individualised lives are really just a myth, and that the truth is that if you're able to share a deep trust and love with someone, then somehow you become a kind of unified togetherness, instead of an individual. I think its a truism really. The myth of there being any other way of living seems to emanate from a cold market, not from human hearts. As I get older I feel it more and more.
matters . Only the concentric gathering of love . Each year , a new layer , the essence of four hearts ( five if you count the dog, of course the dog). What a beautiful permanence of hearts.
Sharing what matters to you. You feel it all, then tell us about . Thank you.
Count the kids (young adults) too and it's five beating hearts. I would have recorded this one (I was thinking of your leather sofa and a cup of tea) but time is a harsh master sometimes.
It’s hard to express the hugeness of love in our human world. The trauma without it, the ease with it. How love is undervalued is the last refuge of humanness in a market onslaught of our relationships. But most of all, how to describe the small, gentle beauty of love.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed this Patris because I’ve not managed to capture any of it really, but isn’t that the way when our mere words diminish the hugeness of life and love :)
And yet you’ve expressed so much of what it’s like to have that kind of love, the amazement - as if there’s an ocean of it in the one drop we have been apportioned. How despite the turmoil of what life so generously provides, somehow a miracle’s been granted you.
As someone likewise astonished it feels so impossible yet familiar.
That's a wonderful description, an ocean in a drop. Exactly.
There's so much talk these days about what a person can get from "love", like so many other things, as if it were a utility to maximise. But love seems to be about what one gives, or compromises, or see's, or listens, not what one can acquire. That too is astonishing.
This is very lovely and profound, and deeply felt, Jonathan. And a really good example of capturing the universal in the personal. Your beloved is both in the frame and not in the frame as your writing reaches out to speak to us all who have experienced this deeply felt comfort in feeling a union with someone we love.
I also have that deep connection with someone - it came later than I might have hoped but I feel so grateful to have found it. When we were first together I muttered to him one evening that if he died I would lie down and die with him, and I still mean it ( although I think my children would prefer I didn’t!) - but a part of me would die with him and only a part of me would exist in the day to day of getting by without him.
You’ve got me turning maudlin, and only the best writing that touches something profound can do that. Thank you for going there!
Thanks Lily, that’s such a generous (and kind) comment, and a really insightful observation, “capturing the universal in the personal”, because I’m trying to do exactly that, traverse the borders of subjectivity and lift the stone on all of our mutual experiences. Thanks for seeing that.
(I’m also very happy to hear of your death wishes too, in the nicest possible way ;)
Well, I assume a good bit of this is autobiographical. We have both been similarly blessed to have joined with someone, "That she is true love." It is the great, good fortune of my life. Nice writing too.
Glad to hear it Wes (although it was obvious of course).
Beautiful possibilities in this world when viewed through the lens of love. The current course of all things is veering toward danger, but a course-righting would easily happen with more love instead of more stuff as the main goal :) I shan't be holding my breath though
since I’m late to the party, there’s probably nothing left to say that hasn’t already been said about this beautifully written essay except that it’s left me speechless! can’t thank you enough (once again!) for sharing it. please continue to let your words shine their light.. the world needs it now, perhaps, more than ever! ✨
I am still finishing up Audio Week. I know you only allow comments for this audio for paid subscribers only, and I totally understand ! But I already wrote this and I do apologize for sneaking this comment in under its written form. (I promise never to do it again).
The torrential finally diminished to drizzle as we ( you, me, the dog , and Ranger) set out through dense woodland, to the edge of the lake, we are going hunting for a pot of gold, hoping to see a rainbow between the breaking sun and the dark bruised sky. Nature always has a miracle up her wind swept sleeve, and today, she did not disappoint. There it was, in full spectral color, the end of the rainbow pointing somewhere off in the distance, I suspect, under the roots of an old Maple, presently flaming in red. To experience the telling of this story was to feel the intensity of your heart. If someone were to ask, define how much you love, I would say, you just did. There is nothing more beautiful than the way you have answered .
“And then she asks me and I talk of my day and gently the talk pours us back into the lake as our trivial words alight like a flock of crows above us and we bask in the power and beauty of those words left unsaid.”
Thanks for doing this in audio. The Shimmering Delicacy Of All Things , the name alone has a way of softly beaconing the reader . Listening , calls to the heart. Definitely my favorite .
You should have special posts for your paid subscribers. I cheated , and that is just annoying. This audio version is the only ‘paid only’ I have come across.
powerful images / your speciality / following her through the shimmer
" Soon she will head into her day, not to take part in the world but to be the world," that was very inspiring / i shall take that with me today / it's morning here too by the way on the edge of the city
dropped a bomb on #2 there / i was not expecting that / it's how i fucking feel so often
i would listen
hmm you brought it home / beautifully done / thank you for that
Beautiful seems like a paltry description, but wow. Moving and profound. I'm glad to be spending this Tuesday morning finally catching up on all of your words I kept stored away for when I had the time and attention I felt they deserved. The wait has been worth it, as I was sure it would be!
Good to see you here Anushree! I hope life is treating you well :)
And thanks for the kind words on my words. I hope you find some more here that resonates with you too. (And, I can’t resist saying, semi-finals eh! Nice done boys :)
This is my first reading of any of your works. “Moved,” might be one descriptor. I particularly resonated with “… I would gladly follow through the shimmer, I would follow without hesitation, I would reach out and pull myself through.” That brought to mind the (usually) older couples who have shared their lives and loves for decades, half centuries. It seems once the first of the couple passes into their next existence, the second shortly follows.
It appears you have written their vows.
Thank you so much for Gary, and I'm very grateful you've taken the time to read my writing. You're so very welcome to read any of the other essays and stories on The Crow which I hope you can find something to resonate with.
I was thinking, when I wrote about "following through the shimmer", about the power and reality of love, and the way that our atomised, apparently individualised lives are really just a myth, and that the truth is that if you're able to share a deep trust and love with someone, then somehow you become a kind of unified togetherness, instead of an individual. I think its a truism really. The myth of there being any other way of living seems to emanate from a cold market, not from human hearts. As I get older I feel it more and more.
Thanks again Gary, glad you've got here :)
The simplicity that nothing else
matters . Only the concentric gathering of love . Each year , a new layer , the essence of four hearts ( five if you count the dog, of course the dog). What a beautiful permanence of hearts.
Sharing what matters to you. You feel it all, then tell us about . Thank you.
Count the kids (young adults) too and it's five beating hearts. I would have recorded this one (I was thinking of your leather sofa and a cup of tea) but time is a harsh master sometimes.
Thanks Lor!
Amended♥️
I’m awake early here and reading and rereading this. Such beauty, all of it.
It’s hard to express the hugeness of love in our human world. The trauma without it, the ease with it. How love is undervalued is the last refuge of humanness in a market onslaught of our relationships. But most of all, how to describe the small, gentle beauty of love.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed this Patris because I’ve not managed to capture any of it really, but isn’t that the way when our mere words diminish the hugeness of life and love :)
And yet you’ve expressed so much of what it’s like to have that kind of love, the amazement - as if there’s an ocean of it in the one drop we have been apportioned. How despite the turmoil of what life so generously provides, somehow a miracle’s been granted you.
As someone likewise astonished it feels so impossible yet familiar.
That's a wonderful description, an ocean in a drop. Exactly.
There's so much talk these days about what a person can get from "love", like so many other things, as if it were a utility to maximise. But love seems to be about what one gives, or compromises, or see's, or listens, not what one can acquire. That too is astonishing.
All this, Jonathan. Yes, and a capacity to see.
Wow, an excellent piece. So thoughtful and written with a masterful stroke of style.
I truly appreciate that Stanley, thanks :)
Best thing I have read this morning. Really enjoyed this. Thank you.
Thanks so much Matthew, I'm really glad you enjoyed this. (I loved writing it too :)
Prose that takes your breath away with a deep understanding of the (yes) shimmering power and reality of love. "And the beauty of words left unsaid"
Thanks Paul, I feel really honoured :)
This is a beautiful capture of a small window of time, and the essence of another ⭐️. Nicely done!
That's really kind of you to say Brian, thanks so much :)
This is very lovely and profound, and deeply felt, Jonathan. And a really good example of capturing the universal in the personal. Your beloved is both in the frame and not in the frame as your writing reaches out to speak to us all who have experienced this deeply felt comfort in feeling a union with someone we love.
I also have that deep connection with someone - it came later than I might have hoped but I feel so grateful to have found it. When we were first together I muttered to him one evening that if he died I would lie down and die with him, and I still mean it ( although I think my children would prefer I didn’t!) - but a part of me would die with him and only a part of me would exist in the day to day of getting by without him.
You’ve got me turning maudlin, and only the best writing that touches something profound can do that. Thank you for going there!
Thanks Lily, that’s such a generous (and kind) comment, and a really insightful observation, “capturing the universal in the personal”, because I’m trying to do exactly that, traverse the borders of subjectivity and lift the stone on all of our mutual experiences. Thanks for seeing that.
(I’m also very happy to hear of your death wishes too, in the nicest possible way ;)
Jonathan your prose is so prophetic and lyrical. Beautiful and inspiring 💜
That’s a very generous (and inspiring) comment Swarnali, thanks so much 🙏🏼
Well, I assume a good bit of this is autobiographical. We have both been similarly blessed to have joined with someone, "That she is true love." It is the great, good fortune of my life. Nice writing too.
Glad to hear it Wes (although it was obvious of course).
Beautiful possibilities in this world when viewed through the lens of love. The current course of all things is veering toward danger, but a course-righting would easily happen with more love instead of more stuff as the main goal :) I shan't be holding my breath though
since I’m late to the party, there’s probably nothing left to say that hasn’t already been said about this beautifully written essay except that it’s left me speechless! can’t thank you enough (once again!) for sharing it. please continue to let your words shine their light.. the world needs it now, perhaps, more than ever! ✨
Thanks AJ, I haven’t read that one in ages and age so I read through it and thought, yeah, that’s so nice! So thanks for that too :)
Have a beautiful day
I am still finishing up Audio Week. I know you only allow comments for this audio for paid subscribers only, and I totally understand ! But I already wrote this and I do apologize for sneaking this comment in under its written form. (I promise never to do it again).
The torrential finally diminished to drizzle as we ( you, me, the dog , and Ranger) set out through dense woodland, to the edge of the lake, we are going hunting for a pot of gold, hoping to see a rainbow between the breaking sun and the dark bruised sky. Nature always has a miracle up her wind swept sleeve, and today, she did not disappoint. There it was, in full spectral color, the end of the rainbow pointing somewhere off in the distance, I suspect, under the roots of an old Maple, presently flaming in red. To experience the telling of this story was to feel the intensity of your heart. If someone were to ask, define how much you love, I would say, you just did. There is nothing more beautiful than the way you have answered .
“And then she asks me and I talk of my day and gently the talk pours us back into the lake as our trivial words alight like a flock of crows above us and we bask in the power and beauty of those words left unsaid.”
Thanks for doing this in audio. The Shimmering Delicacy Of All Things , the name alone has a way of softly beaconing the reader . Listening , calls to the heart. Definitely my favorite .
That paid subscriber thing is annoying, I never want to put that on. Which one is it and I'll change it straight away, sorry, how annoying.
Thanks for the beautiful comment (I love that one too), and for the journey in your own forest :)
You should have special posts for your paid subscribers. I cheated , and that is just annoying. This audio version is the only ‘paid only’ I have come across.
There are paragraphs in this which, if I could, I would pour into a bath and soak myself in.
Haha thanks, soaked in writing. Perfect :)
wow fantastic photography
taking the short form essay to new heights
i enjoy reading your stuff so much
morning is holy
"as serene as a final breath" whoa that echoes
powerful images / your speciality / following her through the shimmer
" Soon she will head into her day, not to take part in the world but to be the world," that was very inspiring / i shall take that with me today / it's morning here too by the way on the edge of the city
dropped a bomb on #2 there / i was not expecting that / it's how i fucking feel so often
i would listen
hmm you brought it home / beautifully done / thank you for that
Did I miss this comment? So many apologies if I did! Thank you rohn 🙏🏼
Beautiful seems like a paltry description, but wow. Moving and profound. I'm glad to be spending this Tuesday morning finally catching up on all of your words I kept stored away for when I had the time and attention I felt they deserved. The wait has been worth it, as I was sure it would be!
Good to see you here Anushree! I hope life is treating you well :)
And thanks for the kind words on my words. I hope you find some more here that resonates with you too. (And, I can’t resist saying, semi-finals eh! Nice done boys :)
Such incredible beauty in your words. Thank you.
(I would love to be loved like this)
Thank you Suburbia, I really appreciate your kind words and I’m so glad you were touched by this piece.