They All Await You
At this very second, here at Pudding Creek, the air smells green and the leaves on the apple trees are just unfolding. They are like little emerald mouse ears reaching towards the fresh blue sky while the frogs sing a chorus of springtime "Why hello, sexy"! My old friends - nettle, elderberry, and horsetail - have returned to their homes by the creek. The garden is waking up too, and I swear I can see the grass growing if I look. Next week we have our first work trade visitor coming for two weeks to help us out with all the springtime outdoor chores.
Tiger the cat spent most of the winter curled up in front of the wood stove. I started to wonder if he was an ancient fire worshipping creature living only in dreamtime. But this morning, like all mornings recently, he woke up and stretched himself, one leg at a time, and then went outside to sit on the deck and watch the world go by. If I spend too long inside, he will fuss at me! He stands outside by the door and meows in his loudest cat voice to catch my attention. Come outside, he says. The day, the sky, the frogs, the trees - they all await you.
Many years ago, on a long silent meditation retreat, as an experiment, I let my mind think as much as it wanted. I thought and thought. So many thoughts, a thought parade, a thought torrent. I had the time, and it allowed me to learn a lot about thinking. Thinking is powerful, and yet it doesn't always solve our problems. Paralysis by analysis is real. Sometimes we solve things by thinking, yes, but then we must act. Or even more surprisingly, we solve things by feeling. We solve things by loving each other and this world.
Put down the analysis, put down the video/article by the smartest pundits. Put down the incessant thinking, analyzing and dissecting. We cannot think our way out of this collective conflict and disintegration.
It's spring and Tiger says put down your device. He says step outside and rest your heart under a tree.
For millennia, in times of loss and danger, humans have joined together to protest, to grieve, and to make art.
Let's join together to sing our rage and our fear and not stop there because it is spring and nature is renewing itself. Let's join our voices and hearts in gratitude and love.