Comfort

When I was formatting the photo of this recent painting on the computer for my files I was asking myself- why do I love nests so much? So many reasons. But simply, coming upon a nest outside always brings a rush of wonder. Have you ever been with a group of children when someone finds a nest? There is so much excitement in their hushed voices. Hushed voices because we innately know that we are in the presence of something wonder-filled. And I feel that there’s comfort in knowing that nest building keeps on happening all around us despite us and our computers and our elections and our wars.

I found this quote by Mary Oliver that captures how I feel perfectly:

“I do not live happily or comfortably
With the cleverness of our times.
The talk is all about computers,
The news is all about bombs and blood.
This morning, in the fresh field,
I came upon a hidden nest.
It held four warm, speckled eggs.
I touched them.
Then went away softly,
Having felt something more wonderful
Than all the electricity of New York City.”

― Mary Oliver, Evidence: Poems