“Simple Gifts" was written by Elder Joseph while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine in 1848. These are the lyrics to his one-verse song:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right. “

 

 

Thank you, Wkipedia !

 

Aaron Copeland also felt compelled to include this ravishingly pure melody in his Appalachian Spring :

 

                You Tube:Aaron Copeland's Appalachian Spring

 

 

CB– aka Christopher Brosius- speaks to our collective unconscious, our amygdala, our “lizard brain”.

 

 

Sometimes, what I crave is utter simplicity; I don’t need much to be content.

 

 

I keep many of CB’s scents around for the sheer comfort of triggering  memories and emotions.

My favorite ones concern my keen love of the natural world.

 

 

to see a FLOWER….

 

CB describes this as “delicate spring flowers [hyacinth, daffodils, jonquils, crocuses], green shoots, wet dirt, and a bit of moss “.

 

 

This scent provides the immediate experience of burying one’s face in the cool damp earth, and inhaling deeply-

The full adventure of nascent verdancy,.

So wet, so green, the infancy of flowering, the soil giving birth.

 

 

Like many of the finest things I can think of-

to see a FLOWER  feels true, unaffected, grounding.

No need to gild the lily.

 

 

This experience is but a fleeting moment; a will-o’-the- wisp, it soon vanishes.

 

You can extend the pleasure a bit by spraying the transparent water perfume on your clothing, your hair.

 

Perhaps, it’s meant to be an ephemeral fragrant memory, much like the transient nature of our physical realm…

 

This delight celebrates new life.

 

 

 

 

I would like to give away a pretty decant of my stash to a reader …..We will draw from all comments on this post at 11:59PM EST Sunday August 22nd.

 

[I enjoy sharing ! ]

 

 

 

 

Photo credits :

 

   Dormouse: http://dailymail.co.uk/

   Amish farm: http://commons.wikimedia.org/    

   Photos of CB , and CB and Ida at MiN NY : c/o CB’s Facebook photos

   Lizard: http://actualfreedom.com.au/     

   Rat sniffing flower: http://ratsratsrats.com/

   Green: http://poisonappleapothecary.blogspot.com/

   Crocus image: http://jschumacher.typepad.com/

   Moss glen: http://photoeverywhere.co.uk/

   Gilding the lily: http://gild-a-lily.deviantart.com/

   New plant: http://kateunraveled.blogspot.com/

   Sweet squirrel kiss: http://lizardwizard.org/

 

–Ida Meister, Senior Editor