When Spirits Call

None of us are immune to it. Animal or human. The call of the spirits of the water or the air.

The comfort of the musing that falls upon us is unequivocal, rendering us motionless as pebbles at low tide.

We think we can’t hear it, but it is there, as familiar as the sound of our breathing. Maybe the call of the air or the water is the sound of our breathing.

We run around the city streets. Pacing like office managers. Burdened with the weight of our thoughts, gathering up all our time into must-dos and almost theres.

We are stone on stone.

We are hands clutched like fists.

Our heads are almost hollow.

And then the call comes, muffled but strong.

And wistfulness rises.

We crave it – the lapping water, the whispering air. The place where the spirits reside.

So we stop and look and listen to the spirits when they call.

And they sustain us. And they restore us.

Every single time.

It is better than dreaming.

It is a temple.

It is an altar.

It is a soliloquy.

22 thoughts on “When Spirits Call”

  6. Hi PUNATIK:
    Oh, yeah. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

    Hi BRIAN:
    It is a special moment when the call comes. It’s as if the spirits of the ages are reminding us what it’s all about.

    Hi SINGER:
    I am really glad you hear it. That makes me feel good. How nice of you to visit!

    Hi JENNIFER:
    Awww. That makes me happy 😀

    Hi GERALDINE:
    Sorry to hear your computer is still on the blink. You are so kind to take the time to visit!

    Like

  8. Hi PAUL:
    I really do need to attend to that. I am afraid my only excuse is that I am a slacker. Time to get workin’, I think…

    Like

  11. In a way, this post answers so many of my own questions, and I’m so glad I’m not alone. That siren call… I long to follow it before it is too late and the music fades.

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  14. Beautiful!
    My favourite line:
    “Burdened with the weight of our thoughts, gathering up all our time into must-dos and almost theres.”

    It makes me think of a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter called “Stones in the Road”:

    “The starving children have been replaced by souls out on the street
    We give a dollar when we pass, and hope our eyes don’t meet
    We pencil in, we cancel out, we crave the corner suite
    We kiss your ass, we make you hold, we doctor the receipt”

    (The starving children comment refers to earlier in the song how we clean our plates because we feel guilty about starving children around the world.)

    You’re writing is always eloquently excellent!

    Like

  15. I don’t know why you think you can’t write poetry – that is a poem you have written (and your stories have a poetic element as well). Great stuff Selma. It’s really weird but the topics of water and birds (or air in this case) are simultaneously erupting in the blogosphere. You may know that in the Overland blog Tara Mokhtari criticised the 2009 Best of Australian poetry anthology because there was too much water and bird themes! You have hit the nail on the head, for why they are important to people – spirit!

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  16. “It is better than dreaming.” I loved it Selma, so simple but absolutely beautiful! The more I read a piece of your writing, the more I’m eager to read another one 🙂

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  17. Hi SUSANNAH:
    I love it when the call comes. It is rejuvenating. It is such a release of tension!

    Hi ONE OF THE GUYS:
    It’s true, isn’t it? We spend so much time running around and thinking of what we want to do, to achieve that we don’t look at what we actually have. It’s nice to take some time just to breathe.

    Hi KAREN:
    The music will never fade. And you are definitely not alone…..

    Hi LAURI:
    My pleasure. Glad you liked it. 😀

    Hi SLAMDUNK:
    What a lovely thing to say. Thank you.

    Hi MANOJ:
    Mary Chapin Carpenter is a great songwriter. Her lyrics are always very meaningful. I used to be on the receiving end of the starving children comment as a kid. It made me feel so guilty.

    Thank you for your kind words.

    Hi GABRIELLE:
    That is so interesting about the water and bird themes. Incredible that it’s happening all at once. Obviously some of us are answering the call of the spirits (I know that sounds a bit new agey). WOW. I had no idea. Thank you for your kind words. Made me feel good.

    Hi LUA:
    Aww. You are such a sweetie. Thank you 😀

    Like

  18. There’s a small window next to my desk at work that looks right out on the lake. It’s truly like overlooking the ocean. When things become stressful, I simply turn and listen to the spirits’ song, and peace descends.

    Beautifully written piece, Sel. xoxo

    Like

  19. Hi STEPH:
    I love that you can do that. That would be a bad place for me to work because I would spend all my time looking out the window and I’d never get any work done. i like to think of you working there!

    Like

  20. Pingback: Water and Birds « Gabrielle Bryden's Blog

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