words & art by shé

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Divine Mystery

“Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.” —Dostoevsky

Some things, some creatures, are easier to love than others. Example: I do not feel love for the dog who nipped me this morning. Little fucker, is what Anger said, and I concur.

I also did not feel love for the stingray I swam over, remembering the intense pain inflicted by one in La Jolla. Disbelief reminded me of a children’s book that encouraged folks to pet them. Are you joking?

However, I do feel love for the tall orange flowers down the dirt road, as well as the horse whose water barrel I topped up. (Much to my chagrin, a man climbed down from a nearby outside sleeping berth I hadn’t noticed. “No problema,” he said, “bye-bye,” and lay down in the shade of a patch of corn.)

Love is never wasted, though sometimes I am, as a side effect. But that has more to do with my complete lack of comprehension of the Beloved’s behavior, and the consequent wrestling with Reality.

I do not love the whole world. Yet. Sometimes I do after bodysurfing or swimming distance or hiking to the top of a mountain. I felt it in the middle of the Sea in a lightning storm last year, like, Yeah! I am HERE! I am part of EVERYTHING!

It’s easier to love a little bit at a time. The green trees and fuchsia bougainvillea outside my window, for example. Friendly animals. The statues of Mary around town. The giraffe and zebra sculptures in Mazatlán. Will Ackerman’s album, Returning. Blue paint. And the ocean, of course, always and all ways.

Swimming in God, 9" x 12" acrylic on paper, 2026
Swimming in God, 9″ x 12″ acrylic on paper, 2026

Bookshelf:
Romy & Julio
Diary of a Reluctant Traveler
Sea Change: stories & splashes
Shoulds are for Saints: the true life adventures of Suzy Le Speed
Dance First …ask questions later: poems & paintings

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2 responses to “Divine Mystery”

  1. cm4hypatia Avatar
    cm4hypatia

    Have to say I loved loved loved this post. My house is totally without power as the electricians who are rewiring the whole damn place (it’s almost 100 years old, after all) move the power connection from an out-of-code mast to a new one) so I am hiding out at Holly House, mercifully available due to a resident cancellation. I loved waking up this morning to look down at treetops. So much energy in this place. So I am loving trees, the Douglas squirrel on the porch this morning even though it or some creature has eaten all the ripening salal berries before I could gather them to infuse in vinegar for the world’s best vinaigrette, the swallowtail butterfly that catches the sunlight among the maples and cedars, and even the sunlight whose merciless heat is muted a bit here in the woods. And it’s such a blessing to be here rather than in the house that suddenly has no more adorable little Sheltie living there. It’s been a tough week. Another week and she’d have made it to 15. Keep writing. Divinum mysterium indeed.

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    1. Shé Avatar
      Shé

      So glad to hear from you! And I’m so sorry about your Sheltie and the tough week. I love that you’re at Holly House. I remember helping Elspeth bring in clothes from the line, and picking gooseberries. Big love to you, Carolyn.

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