“It doesn’t have to be

the blue iris, it could be

weeds in a vacant lot, or a few

small stones; just

pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try

to make them elaborate, this isn’t

a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which

another voice may speak.”

Mary Oliver

“This isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks.”

religious prayers often are about two things: asking for something, and “giving god your worries/cares/concerns.” but for oliver it was always about noticing. about bringing herself back to what is happening wherever she was, whether it be with the lilacs or the weeds in a vacant lot. and it is always within the noticing that there is gratitude, not a forced gratitude, but the kind that springs up because you are attuning yourself to what is happening.