Two days ago I had the fireplace roaring. January in Melbourne. It’s true. But I live in the mountains and it’s an average 4-6 degrees cooler just 3kms from the bottom of the hill to where I live. Despite this, it has been cold. Well below 20 degrees for so many days.
It’s been more than a week of completing projects, working into the night, quoting on new jobs and trying to keep warm.
Today I opened the backdoor and couldn’t believe the stroke of warm air that kissed my face like a full-lipped mouth from someone much-loved, expected but so long overdue that it shocked me. And the sweet buzz of insects at play in my ear—like that someone said, ‘I love you, I’ve missed you’ over and over. I gasped. ‘Really. You’re here…Well come on then!’
Out in my slightly overgrown yard I spotted butterflies dancing between the weeds and my beloved four-legged Little Treasure sunbaking her leopard spotted belly in the sun. I’ve been cooped up and dressed like a Sherpa for so long now that I quickly gathered up my things to join the folly.
As we so often do during the summer and when time permits, Treasure and I make a haven of blankets and pillows with piles of books (and me a pen & paper) in the courtyard under the canopy of trees and we roll from side to side and bake; kissing the sun with our skin, imagining we’re on some private stretch of beach and the ocean is just a lick from our feet.
All around me is the gentle comforting hiss and click of insects, busy in their daily summer discussions; and the sweep of crisp roasted leaves as they snap and fall gently to the ground around me. And in the distance the traffic, morphing audibly into the sound of crashing waves.
Today, for just a few moments, it’s time-out. From working through the night meeting deadlines to regroup, recoup, rejuve…and drift away. Even if it’s just a backdoor away to get some overdue ‘thank God it’s summer’ sun, bliss is in the courtyard of your mind…that wide open door to an ocean of love and calm that is all of your own making.
How do you do bliss for you?