Nature

I like to be near the animals – the farm animals.

Maybe it’s a memory of an earlier, quieter, idyllic time. Perhaps it’s not a memory, but a longing for that time.

The animals are so direct. It seems like they present themselves totally, nothing hidden. The sheep and lambs just ask you to feel their wool – deep, curly wool, that you you can sink your hands into. Once one starts “baa’ing,” the others start too, and soon everyone of them is “baa’ing.”

Do you climb the mountain of prosperity?

Do you climb the mountain of health?

Do you climb the mountain of the perfect mate?

Do you climb the mountain of awakening?

Seeking a solution at the top? Day after day?

Here’s what I found helps me.

To sit quietly and feel that I am at the top of the mountain, in tune with the Creator, the guru, the wisdom at the top. Sensing what it feels like to be exactly where I want to be, right now.

I say an affirmation or two, a few times, out loud. Simply, “I am prosperous.” “I am healthy.” “I am awake.”

Do you recognize that sound?
Can you hear it?
Listen
The sounds of nature
There all around us
Can you figure it out?
It’s like life
Can you figure it out at times?
When you don’t understand
Can you trust?
Do you have faith?
Do you have the faith enough to know all is well?
To embrace each day, the gift of your life
To find the joy, happiness and the peace in solitude
Or out there amongst others
I hope you can hear the sound and recognize it
It’s all around us all the time
Do you sense?

The sound, the sound
Of the babbling brook
Of a damn of water
Thank you water for flowing
For your beauty
For nurturing my body
For being quenching
On a hot day
For being able to cleanse myself
Showering, bathing
May I never take you for granted
For doing the dishes
Yeah may I not take for granted for doing the dishes
Water you such a needed thing to have
And often I don’t know how much you get appreciated
Everybody needs to be appreciated
Ever thing should be appreciated
Water I appreciate you

It seemed like it would be our ordinary 30 minute walk around our neighborhood, the same route, like every other day – but far from it this day.

First, as we approached a corner, we suddenly noticed a huge turkey vulture sitting on top of a telephone pole with its back away from us.

It was completely unfazed as we stood there for a few minutes admiring this unusual, beautiful sight.

But nothing prepared us for what we were about to come upon in the next few minutes.

Out of the blue came the hoot of an owl.

Sometimes this happens in my back yard. Sometimes in my neighborhood. Sometimes I think it follows me.

It was a very pleasant surprise - three long, slow, low hoots. A pause, then it repeated. A pause again, then it repeated again.

It calls up in me the feeling of the deep woods. Where there are wise animals, knowing old, huge oaks, and the feel of soft, moist dirt underfoot.

The woods are alive with mystery and quiet surprise. At any moment there could appear a deer, a chipmunk, or a giant, black crow.

When I was little, every year a turtle would slowly wander into our yard. She was a big turtle, maybe about 12 inches across her hard, patterned shell. She was various shades of green, and her legs came out to the sides, showing her little claws when she walked. You could also see her little tail poking out of the back of her shell.

It was interesting to see her long, green neck, and how she could pull her head into her shell. She was such an intriguing creature!

I read in a book how in Japan, at cherry blossom time, people write little poems, roll them up, and hang them with long ribbons from cherry blossom branches, to honor the trees.

I can imagine all these pink and white blossomed trees everywhere, with sensitive people writing thoughtfully and emotionally, rolling up a little scroll, and tying it with a ribbon, probably red, to a tree branch.

What a kind gesture to the earth.

And then the poem energy fills the air, like prayer flags do in Tibet, and is taken far and wide, as it sways in the wind on the blossom branch.

A few years ago, while hiking through the Mount Ascutney Mountains in Vermont, I found myself absolutely mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the deciduous pine forest. In particular, my eyes were being pulled towards the pinecones. Kind of like a magnet, I was attracted to the pinecones.

They densely garnished the tall pines. They came from all sizes, from two inches, up to seven, and perhaps more. They were everywhere, on the floor, on the branches. And the hues changed from light, pale green, to a royal forest green, to a hazel, to dark brown.

The Frozen Brook

One minute
A pure sound
A sound of
The frozen brook
Yet still there is movement
There is flow
There is activity
In a frozen state
You can see rippling’s
And reflections
Under the thick ice
What do you picture
What do you see
What do you sense
Listen
There is some loud wind
Listen
Slow down
Take a pause
To notice nature
To imagine
To Dream
Be contemplative
Ahh!!!
I could be here all day
Taking it in and letting it out
Amen