The Choice…
Posted by Robin Easton
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If I could write only one poem it would be Marni Norwich’s poem, “I Will”. I relate so strongly to this poem that I often feel Marni wrote about me and my life, and more importantly, how I feel.
(Slide cursor over photos to see titles.)
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I WILL
Listen, I’ve decided:
Life is too precious to ponder
the petty details any longer
and to put it bluntly
I will not participate.
I will not be coming to the party.
I will not be returning the call.
I will not be anything to anyone.
I will stare at the gray sky till it is blue.
I will walk in the green fields and
smell the wildflowers.
I will imbibe this life the way
it was meant to be imbibed.
I will listen only to my body
and the black crows.
I will live by the true laws of the Land.
I will pick wild blackberries and pet cats.
I will write poems I share
only with the wind.
I will raise a child
on the edge of nowhere.
I will nourish her on magic and honey.
I will teach her
the languages of fairies.
We will play in
the forest at twilight.
We will hurl all hardship
downhill to the sea.
© Marni Norwich 2005
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A friend of mine used to tell people who had been indoors too long, “Go outside right now and get the stink blown off you.” I love that phrase and never forgot it. It really applies to so many of us who sit in front of the computer for hours every day. I cannot urge you enough to get away from your computer and TV. Sink your soul into the beauty of the natural world. Even if you live in a city, spend a day at your local park.
Sometimes the very way we live (being sedentary, unhealthy eating, not getting out into the fresh air or the woods) makes us feel tired and then we don’t want to go outside or do anything except sit in front of the computer or TV. It often becomes a vicious cycle. Sometimes we forget that there is a whole world out there waiting to awaken our senses. We forget that we can feel alive, that we ARE alive and need real sustenance to FEEL alive. We are intrinsically connected to the natural world. I believe something dies in us when we lose touch with Nature. Just as something in us revives when we are in the presence of Nature.
We wonder why we are destroying the planet. It’s easy to destroy something that we feel no connection to. So get out into the “great outdoors” and take your children with you. Teach them to love the outdoors. Take them hiking, camping, to the lake or sea, pick blackberries, count shooting stars, collect seashells, rocks and pine cones, plant a garden or go to the park. Teach your children to love Nature…passionately. Point out the blue sky, the shape of clouds, the colors of sunsets. Expose them to the feel of cold rain on their faces and wet grass on their bare feet. Teach them to love Nature. When we love something desperately, passionately….we want to protect it.
May you find courage and strength to live at least some of your days free of computer and TV. May you make time each day, even five minutes, to look at the sky, a flower, a tree, or your child. May you realize that for most of us in the USA, Canada, and other countries wasting our lives, if we choose to do so, is a luxury. In some countries people are so “far down” they have no opportunities, no hope, no choice. Their lives are in a constant state of survival: seeking water, food and safety. They do not have the luxury of choosing to waste their life. I do have the luxury of choice. So I must choose consciously and wisely, and cherish the gift I’ve been given. I must live my life as fully as I possibly can.
From my heart,
Robin
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DEDICATED TO:
This post is dedicated to a passionate and brilliant writer. You will fall in love with OPHELIA She has just written a wonderful piece titled: “De-boobing the tube (or, the time the telly almost wore cement shoes)”, which ties in with my post today. She also has a previous post titled: “Journals” that is absolutely precious and mind blowing. She kept journals when she was a little girl and the things Ophelia wrote as child had me crying one minute and laughing the next. She also has a must read post for anyone who has recently lost someone they love. It’s titled: “mpermanence” and written for her father who passed away. It is stunningly written with deep thought, compassion and hope. I cried reading it, and yet felt great joy. Ophelia is way beyond “a promising writer”; she is a skilled artisan who shapes her words, emotions and thoughts as if they were drawn from perfection.
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This Site: © Robin Easton
Website: http://www.nakedineden.com
Blog: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/
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28 Comments so far...
Alexander M Zoltai Says:
8 August 2008 at 1:43 pm.
Wonderfully Admonishing post !
Sad to say none of the links at the end work…
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BTW, your snake post fell off my top twelve for a couple days but is back up to #3. Where are all the hits coming from, Robin?
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
Thank you Alex for letting me know about the links. I really appreciate you taking the time to do that. I highly recommend going to Ophelia’s page and reading some of her work. She radiates such depth of wisdom and passion for life.
As to all the hits on my “snake post”, WOMAN SNAKE DEATH = LIFE …I have no idea where they are coming from. I am delighted that people are enjoying that post. Also chuckling and thanking you for posting it. It is an honor.
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Ophelia Rising Says:
8 August 2008 at 5:17 pm.
Robin, I have no words. I am humbly grateful for you and your kind thoughts, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for such an honor. Thank you for the lovely dedication.
I never thought about the fact that the reason people don’t put themselves out for the environment is because they are so disconnected to it, but it makes so much sense to me. You’re right. I’ll never forget a talk I once went to, where the speaker said how funny it was that people would say, “I’m going to get out in nature today.” As if nature were something separate that they would go and see. As the speaker pointed out, we ARE nature. We are not separate from it. So to say that we are going to go out and “commune with nature,” is somewhat silly and nonsensical. I suppose what one should say is, I’m going to go out and commune with myself.
I love thinking of the idea of choice – that we, especially in the Western world, are fortunate to have a choice in our lives, to look beyond the basic elemental needs, and to get a good perspective and a philosophical ideology in which to live our lives. Perhaps the fact that we have this gift of choice makes us somewhat responsible, in many ways, to go beyond ourselves and reach out, in order to do something in the world that has purpose. Perhaps we, who have a choice and a significant chance for connection, are the ones who need to rise above and find ways to make positive changes in the world. It may not have to be big and dramatic. I think everyone can make a difference, like you suggest, in raising our children, in the way we live environmentally, in the way we treat our earth and one another. The thing is, we are AWARE. And with this awareness comes a certain responsibility. If we do nothing, or if we ignore what we already know, than we might all be lost. We have to pay attention.
I thank you for another provocative post. And I am truly grateful for you. You, my friend, are extraordinary, in the absolute sense of the word. I so admire you, and am grateful that we found one another in this crazy cyber world.
Peace and love to you,
Ophelia
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Nards Says:
8 August 2008 at 5:33 pm.
Yes Robin, we do spend too much time in front of the television and computer. And yes, I am attempting to teach my child about the wonders of the outdoors. We often come to your site just to take in the beautiful words and scenery. Thank you for sharing Marni’s poem. And…I WILL- Nards
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Lilly Says:
8 August 2008 at 5:58 pm.
What a beautiful poem Robin. I WILL, thanks for sharing. As a girl from the bush I do appreciate what we have but like so many others get easily sucked into the urban lifestyle with the chant, ‘there is never enough hours in the day’. I am not a TV watcher although I do spend way too much time on the computer which I am trying to mange better and I am getting outdoors more than I did because I was starting to feel blah! So maybe my new mantra will be I WILL and I AM. Thanks for the reminder. How can we appreciate something many of us just do not take to experience on a regular basis? So true.
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phoenix Says:
9 August 2008 at 4:11 am.
Very nice post! the part that really touched me was about destroying the planet..
So true, we all are so concerned about the planet “dying” and we are killing her, but do we really, REALLY care? How can we care if we don’t know her? If you are driving along the road and there is a car accident, and you see there are dead people, we don’t really care about them? We feel sorry for them and for their families that lost someone(for a little while), but we don’t really care, because we didn’t know them, so how can we really care about our Earth being killed if we don’t know Her???
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Chrissy Says:
9 August 2008 at 2:33 pm.
Its good to go outside….I love it…
Great post – if I were to make a difference it would be to stop people just for a few minutes, watch that butterfly, stop the car and see the sunset, take the time…..life is very short, stop and smell the roses.
You, Nards and SoulMerlin all write so beautifully, I wish I could do that – I just draw and paint things!
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Tammy Warren Says:
9 August 2008 at 8:01 pm.
This relates to my blog post yesterday. I love blogging but it seemed as though something was missing. I need to get outside and I did. Tonight I decided to head to the “garden” side of the blogging world. What a beautiful site. The poem was beautiful. Thank you for the post.
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Marvin Says:
9 August 2008 at 10:46 pm.
It’s true: We cannot stay connected to nature unless we continually experience nature.
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miriam Says:
10 August 2008 at 7:08 am.
Robin—loved the poem—especially these lines…..
I will raise a child
on the edge of nowhere.
I will nourish her on magic and honey.
I will teach her
the languages of fairies.
We will play in
the forest at twilight.
We will hurl all hardship
downhill to the sea.
thanks for bringing it to me. i will also check out ophelia
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David Says:
10 August 2008 at 6:43 pm.
Very nice poem and thoughts about leaving the computer. It is relatively easy to leave the television for many of us. What about using a laptop out in a golden meadow?
Just kidding. We are going to go sailing in the Bahamas next week. So we are trying! A camera is a good thing right? Even though it has an LCD screen? The screen is very small.
Sigh. One thing I see often is people out walking or running around here. And that is not something we saw that often forty years ago.
Nature is waiting for us. And it will have us one way or another!
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
Oh David…what can I say? You cracked me up on the laptop in a golden meadow. That was very funny!!! 
Hey, it’s certainly better than a laptop indoors, but heck you won’t catch me using no dang laptop in a golden meadow! LOL And yes, I think a camera can change a person’s life…as you know firsthand. Loved your words: “Nature is waiting for us. And will have us one way or another!” Another powerful David quote for your site, my friend. It would take more space than we have here to discuss the MANY meanings to that quote. Good on ya!
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the fearless blog Says:
10 August 2008 at 6:59 pm.
Love the photo and truly love the poem. I agree with you; we have become intoxicated by “stuff” rather than by life. Although my connection to nature remains constant, I too find myself engulfed by the stuff sometimes and therefore lose my way. I don’t mind losing my way every now and then as long as I find my way back to where I must be and need to be. Your reminder comes at a good time for me; I needed to hear these words today. Thank you for reminding me how blessed I am.
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
I love what you wrote here about stuff. I sometimes feel like I’m drowning in “stuff”. I will go through the house with a huge bag and start stuffing “things” into it until I feel I can breath again. I take it all to Goodwill. I admire your honesty about “sometimes losing your way…as long as you can find your way back to where you must be”. As to a “reminder” I think we all need them at times. Sometimes I write about certain things just to strengthen my heart’s deepest truth so that I do not lose my way….or as you said…I make dang sure I find my way back. Thank you.
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Greg Says:
10 August 2008 at 7:57 pm.
Beautiful post, as always, dear…though I fear you are preaching to the choir. Still, it’s a delight to be in this chorus with you! I’m all for less television, but no computer?!?! That’s just crazy talk…
; ) Hope you had a great weekend!!
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
Greg, you are so funny!!! You are the only one who mentioned “NO COMPUTER”. “What’s so funny about that?”, you ask. Well, think about it….you are out in Nature every single day, in your garden, at the beach, in the middle of the night seeking unknown constellations and raising profound questions on infinity and how many stars are up there. LOL You are even out in the middle of….how many lightning storms now?….with your camera, photographing deadly jagged bolts of electricity. Although you may not be safe from the lightening….you’re certainly safe in terms of too much computer time.
You can relax, I won’t send the computer police around to your place. I can see it now; they would take one look at AAAAALLLLLL those flowers you have out front and say, “Oh maaaan, not another one of those tree hugging, flower planting, lighting photographing, beach combing Nature freaks. LOL They couldn’t even conceive of you owning a computer. I’m sorry to tell you this, but you just don’t fall into the computer junkie category…I know this is hard for you to accept, LOL but you’d have to give up all those stargazing, lightning seeking, beach strolling, flower planting sessions to fall into the true computer addict category. As much as you want to be there…I’m afraid you sadly failed the test…you ol’ nature lover, you.
Thanks for making me laugh my friend.
Robin
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Greg Says:
11 August 2008 at 8:50 am.
Besides all that wonderful nature, Rob, making people laugh is what makes the world a little sweeter for me, so I’m pleased to have taken care of that!
I’m always amused when we bloggers (who must be obsessed enough with our computers to spend all the time we do to prepare photos and words for our posts on a regular basis…not to mention trying to keep up with READING all our blogs…) talk about shutting off the computer. ; )
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Robb Says:
11 August 2008 at 9:02 pm.
Kia ora Robin,
Sorry if this is a repeat. I arrived via Ophelia’s place and am happy to find yours. Your words resonate with me and how I am trying to approach my life. Cheers.
Rangimarie,
Robb
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Jack Payne Says:
11 August 2008 at 11:36 pm.
Your zest for living shines though in everything you write, Robin. Especially this one. You could be a one-girl cheering section for the “Great Outdoors.” Reminds me of a sign in front of a church: “Aspire to inspire before you expire.” You do one great job in this realm.
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JJ Loch Says:
12 August 2008 at 5:54 am.
I just finished a project for my publishing house and am DELIGHTED to have some time I can spend away from the computer now. Am going to take a great nature break. 
WOOT!!!
Super post from a beautiful soul.
Hugs, JJ
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Bird Says:
14 August 2008 at 9:53 am.
“…get the stink blown off you…”
I think that’s going to be a favourite of mine!
It’s a damn shame I am writing to you in such a rush, I will be coming back here to read and leave you PROPER comments. But anyway, teaching children to enjoy nature, to feel at home in it… it’s the most important thing ever in my opinion. My mum was a townie but taught me to look with keen eyes and I will forever be in her debt for that. She herself wasn’t at home in nature but saw it’s importance and for that I will always thank her. And thank YOU for telling the same story – we have to CONNECT.
ROBIN EASTON WRITE:
Dear Bird, it’s so heartening to read what your mom did even though she was not “at home” in nature. Wow, she was some lady to see beyond her own “ways” to something greater that she wanted you to be connected to. What a gift. I can honestly say that the greatest gift of my life was given when my parents “actively” shared their love of nature with all six of their kids. It absolutely forged my character, my love of Nature and my love of Life. We as a species are losing this connection and the devastating ramifications of that loss are apparent planet wide. So, like you, I cannot stress enough the importance of sharing Nature with children. Thank you, Robin
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soulMerlin Says:
15 August 2008 at 1:51 am.
Hi Robin ~ The opening poem is so pagan and beautiful – that is really something I can relate to.
and you’re right about getting out – I’m reading your post and writing this comment and I’m indoors in my guest-house room. The sun is shining outside and the waves pound on the beach (I’m in Bournemouth)
….see you have beaten the waves (for a moment…I’m off for a walk in the air)
lovely post
henry
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
I think the Pagan religion a beautiful and holistic one, embedded in both Earth and Sky, trees and sea…all things. Ever since my time in the rainforest and other very remote wilderness areas, I’ve never followed any religion. Even prior to that time I didn’t. But during my time in the wild I became aware that my religion is being deeply in love with Life and planet Earth. My religion is giving thanks for every moment I’m alive. It is worshiping the trees, the sky, the sea, the land, the seasons, my friends, my love, my family…absolutely adoring all of it. Worshiping and finding wondrous the fact that I am ALIVE, that I even exist, that others are alive, that they exist. Giving thanks that I have in my lifetime touched the edge of the Great Mystery. I feel so in love with Life. My religion would be Love.
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Robb Says:
15 August 2008 at 3:19 pm.
Kia ora Robin,
John Muir wrote his church was “the church of the blue sky”. I have always loved that quote and it fits in well with your description. Have a great day, I am off to “church”.
Rangimarie,
Robb
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
Yes, Robb, you are spot on; my church is “the church of the blue sky”. I too like that phrase and will not forget it. You are a kindred spirit. Enjoy Church!!!
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brainteaser Says:
16 August 2008 at 5:49 am.
Hi Robin! I completely agree with you. There is a bigger life outside, where the flowers sway with the wind’s whistling, where the birds chirp, where plants and animals commune to give praise for their being…
I’ve grown up in the countryside. When I was growing up, I had thought, wrongly, that life existed beyond the mountains, where buildings were tall and the street lights shone brightly at night till dawn, where cars raced and where everything was expensive.
Fast forward to the present. I now live in the city. And now I know better. Life is where I used to be when I was a girl, where the air is fresh and the water is pure and happiness has no tag price.
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soulMerlin Says:
16 August 2008 at 8:17 am.
Dear Sherma ~ Your comment is a post in itself – and a little sad. I’m like that myself, in that one love, the theatre, has taken me away from the country – my other love.
Truebird is a good read…she would find Heaven in a window-box, I’m sure!
x
henry
(Hi Robin ~ your post has created great interest…congrats)
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brainteaser Says:
16 August 2008 at 9:01 am.
Hey Henry! Thank you for the kind words, my dear friend. I am always inspired by Robin. Whenever I read her posts… I lose myself and my pen starts to sing.
Too bad you don’t get to go outdoors a lot. But you know what… I love theater. Oh, I’m not very knowledgeable about the art, but I always watch performances whenever I can. It takes lots of talent to be part of it, I know. So I can’t say it’s too bad that you don’t get to stay in the country as much as you want to because you’re doing something you also love. Let’s just wish you can find balance between the two… Theather plus country life… perfect combination.
Me, I also try to go home more often. In fact, I just came from the province (country). Had a quality time with my folks, and got to revisit my childhood. I love it there!
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Graham Says:
16 August 2008 at 1:56 pm.
Your words are so true…. so often when I am stuck at work from early in the morning until deep into the night, I look out of the window of my office and stare into the distance. My head maybe inside the office, but my heart is always out there, in the fields, the woodlands, the rivers, the seas, the sky.
They say that fortune can be found in misfortune. My parents were very poor when I was young. So the only chance of vacation that we had was to take a tent and camp in the local forest. Each morning we would go fishing and catch our own food. Each day we would wander through the forest and share stories. Every evening we would sit under the stars… It was this that taught me to truly appreciate the world around us.
There is nothing more healthy and nothing more rewarding than standing outside and drawing a deep lungfull of fresh air. The perfect medicine!!!
Thank you for reminding us to go outside, as it is so easy to forget when you get caught up in the rat race.
Warm wishes ~ Graham
ps. I do hope the work on the book is going well? I look forward to an update sometime
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
Good too see you “home” Graham. While reading your comment I was truck by your lines:
“I look out of the window of my office and stare into the distance. My head maybe inside the office, but my heart is always out there, in the fields, the woodlands, the rivers, the seas, the sky.”
This made me think of something I just wrote about my life as child in school. I spent all my time longingly looking out the window at tree tops….through all the seasons. I fell in love with trees. They gave me an escape from the lifeless world of school. I was never “in school”. Like you, in my heart I was running through summer fields filled with daisies and buttercups. I was swimming in the lake and wading through the creek, in search of salamanders to hold for just a second. I was chasing colorful fall leaves and catching single snowflakes. I was never in school.
I also was moved by the story of your family and camping. God love them for choosing to do that even though they had no money, because they had no money. Yes, it was a blessing. It was a gift you clutched to your heart and still live today. Don’t ever give it up…it IS you.
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lavinka Says:
17 August 2008 at 10:54 am.
I try to run away from the computer at least once a week. Usually I drive on bike with my brother and other friends. This is a good means of transport, ecology & healthy. In this year, I’ve done more then 1100km (only bike)! Sometimes, going on bike & train. In my area, you can carry bicycles for free. Trains ride very slowly and sometimes addle themselves, but they are cheap. Lifestyle? I am fan of home kitchens, rarely eat in fast-foods. I drink green tea and lot of juice every day. Morning I drink a glass of milk. I eat also a lot of fat meat, I’m too thin and I want to put on weight. Unfortunately, I do not succeed. Recently I just added on blog, the first part of a bike trip (and train) to a small river Rawka.
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soulMerlin Says:
19 August 2008 at 4:37 pm.
I often remember the Baptist Minister who conducted the church service for my mother’s cremation. He seemed worried when I said that my mother found more God in the trees and walks around the beautiful city of Durham where I was born and where she still lived, until the last few months of her life, when she came to live with me in Coventry – than any church or cathedral. He was a good man (the Baptist Minister) but I could see that my answer unsettled him. Yet we all know that the church of god is the world, the seasons, and everything on it.
henry
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Justyn Says:
21 August 2008 at 11:47 am.
Robin, it is so true- just get outside. How can anyone not love the beauty of this earth?? As a mom with a kid I can say that children that spend more time outside do “tend” to love it. My son goes to a school that embraces nature and outside time (a big reason we send him there). You do not have to live in the country to explore nature with your kids. Kids are so open that even a “hunt” in your own backyard or park can turn into an adventure and the beginning of life long love of nature. “hunt” for pine cones, bugs to check out (not kill), butterflies, count the different kinds of flowers….
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Robert Says:
22 August 2008 at 2:49 am.
Holy crap, Robin, this time you have hit me right between my ribs. I was just noticing that this indoor vicious cycle is sucking the life out of me and that I had to do some drastic moves, because I have been losing contact with the living energy of nature, of life, bit by bit, through the last years.
And then there comes your post! I will print it out, stick it on to my wall and bow to it 7x while reading it. This is going to be my daily spiritual ritual. And then I will walk out into the wilderness.
Seriously, it is quite an inspiration and I am so happy you wrote it. I feel so humble in front of you in regards to your relationship with Nature.
And, last but not least, your words: “It’s easy to destroy something that we feel no connection to…”, well this is an ultimate wisdom and I will surely cite you often in the future.
ROBIN EASTON WRITES:
Dear Robert, this comment touched me deeply because I started to think about the “indoor vicious cycle” and how we can often feel blah, depressed, lifeless and don’t know why. Sometimes we talk about it with a friend or counselor, or we pray or meditate, or try to work out in our heads what is wrong, all of which may or may not help. So many of us have almost completely forgotten that we have an inseparable connection to the natural world from which we are birthed. I believe we underestimate the harmful repercussions of not being in ACTIVE relationship with Nature.
Many people on the planet are born into a life that has no active connection whatsoever to Nature, and then we wonder why we hunger, why we die (either physically or spiritually). More importantly, we wonder why we feel no “Living Energy”. As a collective we have forgotten (or never even realized) that this beautiful blue and green planet upon which we daily stand….is alive. It can easily offer us much needed respite, nourishment, a clearing of the mind, and a healing of the spirit and soul.
We can revitalize ourselves by being in it’s presence, by being in relationship “with” Nature. Even if all we do is sit under a tree and…..sit. No book in our hand, no phone in our pocket, no distractions. It might take a body a few days to unwind; most of us live fast paced, high stress lives. But if we take time each day to be “with’ Nature eventually the “citified” hardness falls away. The speed slows down and we begin to reawaken. Life is rekindled as we are infused with the vibrant colors of gentle flowers, the courage of green trees, the poignancy of evening-blue shadows across white snow, the piercingly sweet songs of birds and wind…..Nature whispering a thousand wisdoms to us. She speaks everyday. If we listen Nature will show us ourselves and we will remember who and what we are.
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Jeff Baker Says:
29 September 2008 at 10:14 am.
You have a beautiful way of expressing yourself. I appreciate your words, and the photos really add to the impact of what you have to say. Thanks. Namaste’ — jb
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