#nature
AN OWL, A MAGNOLIA TREE AND ME
I stopped to admire the stars this morning long before my walk was through.
When the moon has set and the sky is clear it’s something I often do.
As I stood there gazing up…there…in the blink of an eye
I saw a shooting star streak across the sky.
I often look for shooting stars and, I imagine, you’ll agree…
It’s ironic on a night I wasn’t looking how a shooting star found me!
Seeing a shooting star is magical as it flashes then disappears without a trace.
So I took a moment to remember all I could about that time and place.
I was standing next to a magnolia tree…
it’s one bloom in the morning breeze swayed.
And I wondered if that bloom refused to close last night
or was getting a head start on the day?
I heard a night owl hoot…her song crisp and clear and clean.
And I wondered since she’s up at night…
how many shooting stars she’s seen?
I didn’t ask the owl about it…or the magnolia tree.
Sometimes with the magic of nature…it’s best to let it be.
No, I was content for the three of us to sit back and admire
one of life’s evanescent moments that flash briefly…then expire.
A reminder of how each moment when it arrives is significant in its own way
Beautiful and vital for but a moment before it quickly fades away.
It was a moment like no moment ever was…or ever again will be…
and I felt blessed to share that moment with an owl and a magnolia tree.
ON THE WIND
Even at 71 years old I still think of nature as my mentor…her lessons are everywhere…
For instance…on my walk this morning…I felt a sadness in the air.
It was a very windy morning so it’s difficult to proclaim…
on the wings of which wind it blew in…from whence this sadness came.
I’m not sure whose sadness I was feeling…whose grief, whose agony…whose woe
since it flew in on a gust of wind…I imagine I’ll never know.
But if my morning walks have taught me anything…
when I think sadness and darkness and grief will never go away…
the moon and stars…like friends…help illuminate my way.
As does the evening primrose, the jasmine shining bright…
the moonflowers and the water lilies…that only bloom at night.
All reminders that even in our darkest moments…seeds of hope and love are sown
that even when engulfed in sadness…we are not alone.
I sent these thoughts out on the wind…along with my good wishes and my prayers
hoping the wind returns them to the source of the sadness…
to let them know a person cares.
I can’t be sure about this…but I imagine nature would agree…
Perhaps that’s why this sadness found it’s way to me.
So I could let this person know…that he or she is blessed…
By sending these thought upon on the wind…and letting nature do the rest.
And when they land upon the person..for a moment they might ease their woe…
as the winds of nature bring them comfort…from a person they’ll never know.