[The links provided within today’s post provide additional insight into the world of simplicity as they connect to previous catnipoflife postings. For Eskimo Kisses, the link directs you to catnipoflife poetry within which you will need to scroll for the new poem.]
Have you ever given much thought to the word, simplicity, other than relating it to the little things, those being easy to understand or do? There is simplicity of the world around us, simplicity of the moment, simplicity of thoughts, simplicity of actions, simplicity of trust, simplicity of values, simplicity of character, simplicity of respect, simplicity of generosity, which all fall within the complexity of love. None of these are hard to achieve. All reign within the realm of beauty, simple beauty, beauty of heart, mind, soul.
The mindset of beauty, its purity & clarity, forms the simplicity of elegance. To be elegant does not necessarily demand gaudiness for beauty is found in the humblest of things – beauty of a smile, beauty of wiping a single tear, beauty of an Eskimo kiss, beauty in the taste of a wild berry, beauty within the aroma of a freshly cut rose, beauty within the embers of a campfire (Read catnipoflife poetry below).
Then, there is the power of words, those which are penned for posterity.The most powerful expressions can be written in the simplest form yet be truly austere, most humbling, undemanding, fully generated from the heart.
Around the Campfire
Nothing like the burning smell
Of a cozy open fire
As amber-glowing embers
Displace any chilling ire
A cup of rich piping hot cocoa
Eases bitterness of the cold
As vapor rises to the nostrils
On downward deep into the soul
All bundled up in sweats
Cross-legged on a woolen rug
Wisps of newly burnt ash
Land softly in my coffee mug
Smell of toasting marshmallows
Tempts all senses, typically taste
When golden brown in color
Ready to be eaten post haste
Simple aromas of nature
Sentimental thoughts do aspire
As wintry pine needles and cones
Sizzle, snap and pop in the fire
Old favorite campfire songs
Snuggling, ghost stories and such
Echo with smiles and laughter
Of memories loved so much
In the magical hour of midnight
No stronger time doth inspire
Than the gripping taste of hot cocoa
Around the blazing campfire
©catnipoflife
Sharla Lee Shults
“One can enjoy a wood fire worthily only when he warms his thoughts by it as well as his hands and feet.”
—Odell Shepherd (American professor, poet & politician, 1884–1967)
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