Magical hummingbirds for Mary Oliver

85 Replies

The American poet and writer Mary Oliver (1935-2019)  died last week.    However her soul and spirit will live on in her beautiful and evocative words.

20190108_131930

She asks her reader    

‘Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life…..’  

20190115_094047She reminds us that material stuff clutters our lives.

“I have a notion that if you are going to be spiritually curious, you better not get cluttered up with too many material things……”

20190110_120705

We are reminded of the importance of giving time, power and energy to that which we love and feel passionately about.

“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.”20190115_092149

“You do not have to be good.   You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.   You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves…….”20190120_145359

In this poem she speaks of her intense love for Mother Nature and the smallest of birds flying among the scarlet flowers……..and that she cannot wait to be the hummingbird……26733700_567669383565711_6812376656265793633_n

Thank you Mary Oliver for showing us how to drink from the sweet nectar of life….like the magical hummingbirds.

20190117_095809A Bientot

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

http://www.artinthealgarve.com

85 thoughts on “Magical hummingbirds for Mary Oliver”

  4. Pingback: Magical hummingbirds for Mary Oliver – Timeless Wisdoms

  5. davidjrogersftw

    Thank you dear Janet for this post that gives us pause to reflect on the essential things like lovely ideas, lovely feelings, and lovely watercolors. My crabby mood is ruined and I must think of kindness and warmth toward the world.

    David

    Reply ↓
  7. Writing to Freedom

    This is a beautiful tribute to Mary and her exquisite poetry! And of course, you found a poem with hummingbirds! Well done Janet. And how fun that we both posted tributes to Mary today. It must have been those hummingbirds… 🙂

    Reply ↓
    1. janetweightreed10 Post author

      Hi Dear Brad…..yes it must have been the hummingbirds bringing us together like a magical circle:) I just read your blog and it is also a beautiful tribute to Mary. Thank you. x

      Reply ↓

  13. Pingback: Magical hummingbirds for Mary Oliver | How my heart speaks

      1. Patty

        You are welcome. Whenever I am notified that someone has liked my work if they have a website I am able to see it. Whenever possible I try and go share some of their work. It’s just one person helping out another. I’m grateful that you enjoy and read my work. It’s just my way of saying thank you.

      3. Patty

        First of all, I believe in helping each other. Second of all, if I want people to share my work, I need to be willing to share their‘s. Enjoy your visit to Campbell’s world, and please do feel free to share anything that you find here. I am dictating hope there are no mistakes.

  24. Mary

    This was a wonderful tribute and what a gift that Mary Oliver gave us through her work. Your hummingbird paintings play right into the softness and wise wisdom of her words. It was a sad, but beautiful read this morning. Best wishes for a wonderful new year and I’m so happy to be able to see you again – this was a quiet and powerful post my friend.

    Reply ↓
    1. janetweightreed10 Post author

      Thank you Mary…so pleased you enjoyed.

      Mary Oliver’s words remind us of so much and most specifically to take note of everything that Mother Nature presents to us – and to make the most of every precious moment we have. Happy New Year to you. Janet

      Reply ↓
    1. janetweightreed10 Post author

      Hi Sam…thank you so much for this lovely comment…and I will definitely look at your blog and follow. I am on FB and Twitter and have as yet ignored instagram….however, I will take a look. In these turbulent times, Mary Oliver brings hope and a sense of excitement about being alive within Mother Nature’s bounty and reminds us of the creative joys that are there for us all to enjoy. Janet 🙂

      Reply ↓
  33. Jet Eliot

    Oh Janet, this was the most delightful and spirited tribute to Mary Oliver, thank you so much. I loved the poem and every quote. I so appreciated the reminder you shared with us of her messages to travel light and to honor our creative nature. Great words: “let the soft animal of your body love what it loves…….” She sure did great things with her “one wild and precious life,” thanks for these beautiful reminders. I love the brightness and fluidity of all of your paintings here, matching so well Mary Oliver’s words. And that first painting strikes me as brilliant…like you.

    Reply ↓
    1. janetweightreed10 Post author

      Mary Oliver has left a wonderful legacy for us all….and yes she did indeed live ‘one wild and precious live’. I am so pleased you enjoyed the accompanying watercolours and particularly the first one:) I hope you enjoy a lovely and creative day. janet.

      Reply ↓

  35. Pingback: JCR Humming Poem For The Late Mary Oliver RIP – cherishthelady

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.