Living With a Full Moon in Each Eye
Speaking that Sweet Moon Language to Light up Your Life.
Image by Patou Ricard on Pixabay
It is early morning here in Cordressagagh – the place of the briars. The only sounds are those of the dog Obe (short for Oh be Joyful) snoring and Sparkle the black cat purring. She is sitting in her favorite place which is on my chest. We call this heart parking, and she is the chief heart parker. Obe is under the covers. It is his safe place.
I woke up excited and afraid. I spent sometime last night wondering if what I would write about in this Mindful Gardening Newsletter would be of interest and more importantly would it be of value. I wondered if what I had to write would connect with people and allow them to be courageous enough to begin to Companion their Greatness. To be courageous enough to flower the seeded potential within themselves.
So, I decided that I would write in the way that is most natural to me. I wouldn’t worry about whether it would be liked or not liked. I would imagine I am having a conversation with one person – my God daughter. We are sitting before an open fire in the living room of this cottage. It is warm and cosy and, in my heart, there is the longing to connect.
So let me have that kind of conversation with you.
Tee playing guitar - Bee listening
When I run workshops on creative writing with my wife Bee, we are often asked to introduce ourselves to the participants. Often this is on the evening before the workshop that takes place the following day. The presenters are aske to share some of their writing in a concert. The way in which I introduce myself is by way of my favorite poem. It’s as if this poem was written especially for me. It’s as if the poet knew who I was and who I would become and am becoming.
So let me introduce Tony Cuckson to you in a way that tells you more about him than saying that he is a writer, storyteller, folksinger, and organic gardener amongst other things. The poem is by a Sufi poet name Hafiz of Shiraz. The Sufi’s are the mystical aspect of Islam. The poem is called That Sweet Moon Language.
That Sweet Moon Language
Admit something: Everyone you see, you say to them, "Love me
Of course, you do not do this out loud, otherwise someone would call the cops.
Still, though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect.
Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye that is always saying,
with that sweet moon language, what every other eye in this world is dying to hear?
from Love Poems from God. Published by Penguin Compass. Copyright © 2002 by Daniel Ladinsky, Ed.
When I was a young man between the ages of 17 to around 30, I lived in the world where everyone I would see I would say to them “Love me.” Of course, I didn’t say that out loud other someone might call the cops.
Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay
I had this longing to connect. Later in life it would lead me down the road of alcoholism. I have been sober for now for more than 14 years. That is hard for me to believe but sobriety is one of the key ways in which I Companion my Greatness.
Hafiz invited me to live a vision which is ongoing. This is the vision to become one who lives with a full moon in each eye speaking that sweet moon language that every other eye in the world is longing to hear.
The sweet moon language is the language that lights up the darkness. I live in rural Ireland where sometimes it gets so dark that you cannot see the road in front of you. That is why dances in cottages in earlier days were held on the nights of the full moon. It is because the full moon lit your way.
So, when I write or when I speak, I want the words to light your way. I hope this isn’t arrogance, but it is a longing of my heart. It derives from the longing to connect. This is to connect to that which is beyond this separate sense of the personal. It is to connect to that inner Presence which is Universal and which in the words of the poet Derek Walcot has loved me all my life and KNOWS me by heart. (Love after Love).
So, this newsletter The Mindful Gardner is written from the longing to connect and the love I have for speaking/writing that sweet moon language that every other eye in the world is longing to hear. This moon language is feminine. It is allowing. It invites you to allow the greatness in you to shine into the world of separateness and light up your life.
Image by Mircea Ploscar from Pixabay</a>
Has this anything to do with gardening? For me you are the garden. You are the one who is here to grow and express that which is seeded in you to bless you and to bless the world. This is what will ultimately give you the greatest meaning and purpose for living “your one wild and precious life.” (Mary Oliver).
There is nothing quite as wonderful as being someone who has a vision to shine light into the darkness that is living a life without love. So, I will be sharing with you in this Newsletter an invitation to shine your light.
I am off to make myself the first cup of tea of the morning. The heart parker has woken up and is now giving herself a wash. The O Be Joyful dog is still snuffling under the covers. It is time to get into the day “with a winged heart ready for another day of loving.” (Kalib Gibran)
Let it be so for you. Let it be so for all.