“You must talk to your heart.”

It’s spring again. The grasses have recovered and wildflowers have begun to blanket the new meadows. The blackened and dazed oaks wait, for what I’m not sure.  Roots in the earth, all’s right in that part of their world. In time—their time, not mine—the roots will support a new bloom.

The main thing is this—when you get up in the morning you must take your heart in your two hands. You must do this every morning….Then you must talk to your heart.”

(Grace Paley, “My Father Addresses Me On The Facts Of Old Age”)