Pause.

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

Mary Oliver. “Thirst.” Praying.

Love all the earth, every ray of God’s light, every grain of sand and blade of grass, every living thing.
If you love the earth enough,
you will know the Divine Mystery.

Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov.