Is there anything as heartwarming as being looked in the eye by a wild animal?
I ask this after having just had the experience with a Wood Thrush.
Perhaps not what the mind conjures when hearing the title “wild animal.”
A little bird to look at, a big bird to listen to.
Its voice haunting in its beauty.
What does a bird think or feel when it sees me?
Is it only sensing a potential threat?
Or could it be seeing in me, what I see in it?
A beautiful being that enhances the world simply by being alive,
singing its song from inside out?
As I finish writing that sentence, the very bird gives a vocal salute.
Does it really matter if I am wrong in believing it is the latter?
Archive for April, 2012
A Wood Thrush’s View
Posted in Uncategorized on April 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Life Without Doors
Posted in Uncategorized on April 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »
The grass and weeds recline flat upon the earth.
Where I also rest my bones and lay flush.
Presuming the deer cleared this spot as they
found refuge from their reactive living.
Is it my imagination that the ground feels
warm from their sleep?
Why wasn’t I lucky enough to be born to a life without doors?
Perhaps because I have the option of in or out,
life is more pleasant?
Yet, it seems the choice leads often to dissatisfaction
as we seek perfection and settle for physical comfort.
Yet my soul, my heart, my essence are blissful outdoors.
Even when cold and wet air surrounds us,
as my insides are full and warm.
Here things are real, alive, dead, beautiful, chaotic.
True from the divine rather than manufactured by mankind.
I am in love with this world.
Breakdown for change
Posted in Uncategorized on April 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
The other day in the grocery store deli, an unsuspecting woman suggested I “take a number.” This request caused me to bend over at the waist, put my head in my hands, and chant ‘I hate it here’ four times.
On a literal level, this reaction was due to my dislike of wasting the paper that the numbers are printed on, in order to create a system that robs people of their own responsibility. When learning to stand in line back in kindergarten, weren’t we also being taught how to be considerate of the others around us? On top of that, this system barely works, as the numbers rarely match up to the one on the board.
My life is centered around the idea that everything can be seen symbolically. The metaphor represented in line that day was the true root of my breakdown. Simply put, what I saw was an apathetic population, relying blindly on an ineffective system, in order to receive processed nutrition.
This experience left me with a sense of gloom and hopelessness. I had the choice to see this emotional force as a weakness to overcome, or as a message from my depths to make changes. The latter was the only option that felt real. So what then, am I going to do to honor this plea?
My first duty was to go in to the woods, lie down, and allow that which is often referred to as Mother Nature, come through me and refill my bones with peace. It is there where life makes sense. Not because it is exactly fair—some plants overrun others, while predators cut short the lives of their prey—but because it is honest, harmonious and authentic.
While laying with the natural world, I asked what I can do to induce change. My hope of hearing a grand step-by-step plan was not fulfilled. Instead, the silence whispered that my every action is already creating change. Every choice made is honoring that which I find sacred. Whether that reverence is for money, consumption, earth or love.
Although it will be an ongoing process to find honorable actions, my primary choice is to carry with me and share the peace and acceptance that the forest provides me. And from that space, challenge humans to examine their lifestyles. So, I ask you, do the choices you make reflect your inner truth? If not, why do you continue to make them? Intention without action has no meaning. At times it may feel hopeless, choose to evolve anyway. Your actions do make a difference.
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atreesvoice 