Practicing Life: a life long skill

/ moragnoffke

What skill would you like to learn?

I am sure I would love to learn more skills 
but first I want to refresh some old ones, 
develop that which I already have and enjoy. 
Connect my fingers 
with the keys of a piano 
to play recognizable tunes 
for people to sing to. 
Dig deeper into the soil, 
feeding and cultivating my plot 
and reaping the fruits of my hands. 
Gather nature's dyes from plants 
and become truly skilled 
at natural fiber dyeing. 
Hand-print my personalized 
designs on curtains. 
And lean into the different 
forms of poetry for fun.
Then I would like to slowly 
make my acquaintance 
with herbs, spices and fruits. 
As I plant and tend them 
I will get to know them. 
I will gather the wisdom 
of the healing ways of plants. 
I never want to pretend 
I know more than I do 
but I will share freely 
that which I learn, 
for I believe in the value: 
let food be your medicine. 
What skill is this?
I know not, 
but that's the one I want.

After that there will always be more skills to learn, one by one, because that is what life is about.
Today would be my mother’s birthday: Happy Birthday Mom! This post honours her humility and lifelong attitude of learning and living close to the earth.

Final Sunflower-roses image, soft pastel, M Noffke, March 2021.

Wishing you a life long skill in practicing life.
Cheers,
Morag

32 thoughts on “Practicing Life: a life long skill”

  1. Thank you, Morag, for your lovely thoughts, a moving tribute to your mother,
    and the beautiful painting. You have a long life before you to achieve all your aims!
    I hope you are safe and nowhere near the storm!

    Joanna

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Your tribute to your mother is truly heart-warming. The way you express your desire to reconnect with old skills and explore new ones resonates with the idea that life is an ongoing journey of growth and discovery.

    Like

    Reply

  8. This is a beautiful tribute to your loving mom. I like your passion to learn. It’s said that if one is not eager to learn something new, he or she should be considered ‘old.’ Using food as medicine is a skill that many people still practise.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment