Rising Up

I’ve been at this nature thing for a few years now. Making the time to find moments and tend my sit spot practice.. and life is life and so my moments have gotten shorter and shorter as summer waned and fall began. Squeezing in 10 has been - let’s say challenging?  The last two weeks I’ve been making the time in the mornings again to get outside and join the chorus welcoming the light of the sun. I’ve been striving for 30 minutes and feel pretty satisfied with the 20 I get. This morning the doves were chasing out what I think was one of their babies. It’s time for he or she to go find their own neighborhood. 

And, at work I’ve got a mystery bird in the swath of green behind the building.. the more I tune in at home the more I tune in elsewhere. Funny how that works.

Swath

With the time change and a lot of other changes finding longer moments happens on the weekends.. thankfully, most days this little strip of brush and trees is full of birds. I finally get to hang out with a mockingbird, an eastern phoebe, some towhees.. the wrens really hate the cats.. and today.. finally the white throated sparrow stopped in for a visit. 

Overgrown

This spot is one of my favorites on the trail when I ride. It is obviously overgrown but it is teaming with life. There’s a towhee family in here, wrens, Brown thrashers who alarm everytime a bike comes by (I imagine they don’t get a lot of rest when folks are getting off work). I’ve seen a great blue heron in here, goldfinch, heard the flickers tonight and some downy woodpeckers... man I do love a shrubby and overgrown edge.

Resiliency

Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties..

These last few weeks have been trying to say the least.  We are all okay, but damn..  Every where I turn something requires my heartfelt attention.  I am grateful to have such love and the capacity for such love that I want to give it and do so easily.  I come back again and again to stores of strength I forget I have until I need them.  The one place I am struggling to give the attention due is to myself as I know it will come in time - right now, I am wondering when..  I am going to be honest folks and say I am tired.  I am worn slap out.  I need a break.. I am not depressed.  I am not sad.  And I am not lonely or longing for anything other than some span of time that I can call my own.. I am oddly content even in the midst of the chaos of living.. And, we have been in the thick sticky of life.  If you see me or think of me.. or see us or think of us.. send a little extra squeeze or well wishes on this glorious fall breeze.  For now, I'm going to zip up my hoodie and enjoy the setting sun.