This Moment... Carrot Tops, Kitten, Compost, and Music



New kitten in Ladakh, by Kelly Klein


Feeling great love for this moment, and for you..

At times, I find myself wondering what ‘should’ I be doing? I ‘should’ be making a greater contribution within my community; I ‘should’ be making better use of my time, being more constructive, bla, bla, bla

Drying carrot tops/l;eaves for winter Chimichurri and pest0, Kelly Klein
When I let go of that, come back to now, this moment, I am living, fully living. I hear Cat Stevens playing in the background, my feet on the floor, stripping lettuce leaves off plants that have bolted and are about to flower. Some, of course, I leave in the ground to fully flower and seed to save those seeds for replanting.  Learning about so many things that are edible has been an ongoing and rewarding process. I long for things to create compost to nourish my poor soil, but then find another thing that is edible. Carrot tops (leaves) taste like parsley but milder. So I pulled up the carrot plants and get to use all of it, roots and leaves. Poor compost. Again, nothing for you. Lately when weeding, I will cut the weeds leaving the roots to create more leaves to again feed the compost bin. Other times I just pull them up, always trying to catch them before they seed.

What more do I need or want in this moment of my life? Nothing. I am living. I am growing and harvest, washing and drying for winter use. Why do I need to have some other activity, purpose? Isn’t this enough, this moment, ahh, it just passed, but fortunately, I am experiencing another, a blues song rolling along behind me.


Drying lettuce for adding to  cooked meals  in winter, Ladakh, Kelly Klein
Before pulling the carrots today, I pulled up lettuce that was also going to seed, stripping off the leaves, washing and spreading to dry for the winter. A little tough and bitter for eating raw, but fine for soups, and cooked dishes.

Not to alarm you, but oh well, in the morning, I take my bottle of urine outside, mixing with water to offer nitrogen to the green leafy plants. I found an old plastic olive oil bottle cut in half works perfectly between my legs at night.



Little Luka, my new companion, Kelly Klein

I have a kitten. So exciting. I have so desperately wanted a friend, a companion, a living thing to love other than the garden. I was so hungry for animal companionship; I made a little swimming pool with an old yellow washbasin and surrounded it with flowers. Now I see wild dogs, cats, birds, and lizards visit my little water offering. And now this kitten. I had forgotten about the energy they carry during their spurts when not sleeping.

As I have lots of clay around from construction of this house, I made a couple clay marbles that he loves to play with, rolling around the floor. The other cat toy is just a stick with a string attached that I can wave around when he is over- the-top crazy and needs to release it all. Ah, grace Slick now, feet still on the floor.

Luka on bed, Ladakh - Kelly Klein
Can each of these moments in themselves be life, nothing more? Why do we so often seek to want something else, to desire some job, possession, person, activity, future…? How much do we lose by not being here now, appreciating all that we are experiencing, good or bad, and not trying to move away from it? I find curiosity such a powerful tool. When experiencing difficult moments physically, emotionally, or mentally, if I can turn towards them with curiosity, it changes my relationship completely to it. Previously, when experiencing pain, I would reach for a drug, get lost in thoughts of poor me, and experience great aversion to the present moment. With curiosity, I can see it change moment by moment, sometimes more increased, sometimes subdued, sometimes pulsing, sometimes sharp. With this attention, I feel a level of love and acceptance too, that this moment is like this. And the next, THIS moment is like this, or this moment is like THIS. And now Habib Koite and Bamada sing to me. Ever changing this moment, this body, the light, the internal and external experience. If I was aware of all of it, it would probably be overwhelming, all the changes happening each moment. To be aware of the changes that I see, hear, smell, feel, taste…all at the same time in this moment. Perhaps our natural filters are important or we would be overwhelmed with the present stimuli changing every second. And yet, so many subtle but real changes that I so often miss, lost in my mental processes. I used to think the mind was so important, now I see what a powerful distraction it is.

Ah, and now John Martyn, ..so often I forget to turn on music, just basking in the silence, yet notice how music shifts the internal energies too. It makes me feel joyful and is truly a treat. That others can create feeling from sound and combinations of sound and voice that in turn create a different energy within me. Fascinating. Very grateful.


So, to all my friends, I invite you to this moment, in all its richness. Is there really anything more important, more real, more meaningful?


Comments

  1. Thank you so much for sharing this Kelly, it’s beautiful x

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    1. Thank YOU Katherine for sharing with me. And yea, comments are now working!! I look forward to being with you some day in the deserts of Morocco!

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  2. This is lovely. Thanks, Kelly

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  3. I love all that you've shared here Kelly - all those years ago when I came across Ram Dass, my beloved teacher, saying Be Here Now seemed such a simple lesson but one I struggle to keep hold of ~ and, here You Are Now, demonstrating it for me! Thank you, for the reminder, and giving me a little snapshot of your life.

    It's wonderful too, knowing you finally have a feline companion, I remember you longed for that relationship when I'd shared icture of my rescue cat Daisy. She's now 10! Luca has the typical mischievous face of a kitten 😺 Enjoy the loving and the fun πŸΎπŸ’•πŸΎπŸ’•πŸΎπŸ’•

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    1. Thanks so much Rosie ley, for so many things, especially your love and support, time and again. I am delighted to be able to share this space with you. Many julleys friend!

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  4. A beautiful reminder to find and sit with the simplest moment in my day.

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    1. isnt it delightful when we can remember to be here, now! Enjoy Debra!! and many thanks.

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