Everyday Canvas

Pausing and Autumn

For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" 

“Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you - sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever.” ― Lauren Oliver

Do you agree or disagree with Lauren?

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I would neither agree nor disagree with Lauren Oliver. What she is talking about is her own experience and she is entitled to it, as we all are with the ways we experience our surroundings and our moments.

As for me, sitting still and pausing for second or two works well, especially if I have been preoccupied, rushing to get things done, or feeling the weight of the world for one reason or another. Such a pause is an exercise of reverting to simplicity and giving myself a break, so I can think clearer and act more wisely. This taking a tiny time-out has a calming effect on me. Yet, unlike Lauren Oliver, I don’t think just because I paused, I could live forever. I think my time-out can only be good for a little while.

To each, her own!

For: "Space Blog" 

Prompt: From Beholden ’s "Fall Poem" 
“The world's a bright and kindly place when our autumn friend returns.”.

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I am not so sure autumn has been a true friend to me. At one time in my life, it was my favorite season.

That was until I developed an allergy to ragweed and just about anything else in the atmosphere. My allergies were comprehensive, but ragweed took the cake. All allergists I visited agreed that my kind of ragweed allergy they couldn’t cure for good or even calm down a bit. It wasn’t just the allergy that was the culprit but that it led to a full-blown asthma, resulting in a move to Florida from New York, so I could stay alive. Mainland USA is the main producer of ragweed, but Florida and most parts of California have a less amount of it in season.

However, I might be blamed for some of this trouble, too. Where we lived on Long Island, we had a two-acre backyard of wild vegetation and huge trees, mostly oaks. I liked to lie in a hammock, read for hours, and watch the colorful leaves fall about me as nature donned its finest outfits. I think I overexposed myself without noticing what too much beauty can do to a person’s immune system. I just couldn't handle it.

So “bright and kindly” for me has been dubious. Bright, yes; kindly, no.