Warm and Beautiful and Easy

Painting by Narges Hashemi, exhibited at Aaran Gallery in Tehran, shown on Iranian.com, November 5, 2008.

I had some nasty dreams last night. Things I didn't want and places I didn't want to visit and people I didn't want to see and actions which were all unwelcome were filling my sleep and I actually woke up several times to "reset" my dreams, but as is an unfortunate thing with me, I would fall asleep again and pick up the dream wherever I had left it off and the unwelcome images came back. It wasn't a nightmare, because I didn't wake up in a cold sweat or screaming, but I was angry all through the night, clenching my jaws, and keeping my hands in a fist, my nails cutting into my palms. Yikes!! That was awful!

I woke up to light and calm, the sun breaking out outside my window, the tree branches dancing in a soft breeze, the sound of my son's breathing down the hall, even the sound of Iden's flushing the toilette upstairs, sounds and feelings of order, life, and normalcy, things that do rule my life these days. I woke up my son to get ready for his 8:00 a.m. class and as he was ready to leave the house, he came into my bedroom where I was getting ready to go to work, and handed me an unsolicited cup of hot tea with a little milk in it, just how I like to drink my morning tea. I stayed in my bedroom for a few more minutes, sipping my tea and looking out the window, feeling alive and fortunate for my life which is warm and beautiful and easy. Thank you God!