Somewhere, along the way, I learned that Plato had no formal curriculum. He was simply exploring deep questions of living with fellow seekers. He actually had no place to gather, when he inherited a grove of olive trees from an uncle who had died. He began to walk with those he loved in the sacred peace and beauty of the olive grove. It is not by mistake that the word Academy in Greek means “Sacred Grove.” And there was the time when Sophie and I climbed to the top of the island at sunrise with her dogs leaping ahead of us. And that summer morning when Paul and I rowed on the glass lake into the mist where we drifted and listened to the soft lip of water lap against Eternity. And the moment with Susan at her mother’s beside in the hospital. She was about to leave and we drifted as the water of life nudged her closer. And the trip to Greenwich Village to watch Kenzie dance and how, with the circus of the world happening around us, she gave her all to leap and arc her body like a flower tossed from a balcony. And we were drawn into the moment of her leap. It reminded me of a pelican I saw, scooping sunlight near a dock in Sausalito, thinking it was food. How we all dive for one food, finding another.
This excerpt is from my book of poems in progress, Unadorned.
Check out Mark’s Events page at http://threeintentions.com/events for Mark’s upcoming in-person and online events.
July 9, 16 & 23: You Don’t Have to Do It Along: The Net of Friendship. A 3-session virtual webinar guided by Mark Nepo 1–2:30pm ET/10–11:30am PT. Details at Live.MarkNepo.com.
Aug 4–6: Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Aversity, Weekend Retreat. (web link)
