Rachael Padilla

Reflecting on December: Then & Now

Added 2019-12-10 18:41:00 +0000 UTC

I awoke this morning to one of the prettiest December mornings in my recollection. It was so warm! Overnight, a front from the South had settled in, I imagined a host of tropical images in the warmth of it. I was so inspired and awed by the beauty and stillness that I began to wish, in earnest, that I was a poet.

I thought of all the Decembers past, when I was living in the desert in the shadows of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. I remembered the bitter cold. Then my mind started to contrast then and now. If I were a poet, I could write the images and their contrasts with eloquence and clarity.

I didn't pick up a pen. Instead, I took all that I was feeling and remembering, and turned the camera on. I have often wondered at how I could begin to share more of my genuine self with all of you. As a result, on this day when I'm feeling particularly brave, I recorded my thoughts: raw and unedited. If I were a poet, I could have written it stunningly.

But you know what? Perhaps it is time to give the poet a pen, or in this case just permission, I've come a long way, and a little further in the direction of growth is always a good thing! It is time for me to write the poetry of my soul.