Today I’m thankful for nature
And how spiritual in her presence I can be….
Whenever I feel her wind in my hair
her sun on my face
and her rain washing over me
I think one of the main reasons I like to take a walk in nature as often as I can
is that nature is unaware of politics and man’s inhumanity to man.
I see trees of every size, shape and color…in the heat of summer to the winter snows
standing side-by-side…their roots connected…helping each other grow.
There is a wealth of wisdom and so much insight to be gained
as I watch the clouds high up in the sky…the ones that hold the rain.
They’re called cumulonimbus clouds…Yes, I know each of them by name…
and I watch when these unbiased clouds release their rain…
how it falls on everyone and everything the same.
I see birds sharing breakfast on our walks along the shore…
So many different kind of birds we meet….
all content knowing in the vastness of the ocean…
there’s enough for everyone to eat.
As I walk around it seems to me…living in peace an harmony is what nature’s all about.
Something, when I turn on the news, I see we humans have yet to figure out.
Which is why I pray one day we’ll understand how all our roots are intertwined
How we’re meant to help each other grow…
no matter our size, shape or color…through the summer heat and winter snow.
I pray we come to revel in our differences…to know each other by name
and like the rain that falls from those cumulonimbus clouds…we’ll treat everyone the same.
I pray we share our meals with everyone we meet…
understanding, if we work together, there’s enough for everyone to eat.
Yes, I pray one day we humans will finally figure this out:
How we are all a part of nature…
and how peace and harmony is what nature’s all about.
May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life
that have, for us, thus far accrued…
and to begin each day with a word of thanks…
and thoughts of gratitude.
Today I’m thankful for each single leaf…
because
as the falling leaves paint the ground
in a colorful quilted motif…
I am struck by this wonderfully profound
and simply basic belief
that all this beauty would not be possible…
without each single leaf.
I watched an oak leaf fall today…watched it leap off the tree without making a sound…
I watched it float and spin and flutter…until it landed on the ground.
I ran to where that oak leaf landed…where I was relieved…
to see that oak leaf had come to rest…on a cluster of maple leaves.
“Are you okay?” I asked the oak leaf…”That was a long drop and you’re so small.”
“I’m fine.” The oak leaf said. “I have friends who I knew would catch me when I fall.”
“But I see only maple leaves.” I remarked.
“There’s not another oak leaf anywhere around.
“How did you know the maple leaves would bring you softly to the ground?”
The oak leaf gave me a quizzical look…I think we was beguiled…
while at the same time all the maple leaves looked at me and smiled.
“We are all part of nature.” The oak leaf said. “We are nature one and all.
It is our job…our pleasure as part of nature…to catch each other when we fall.”
“If you’ll excuse me for a moment.” the oak leaf said. “I haven’t got much time to play.
you see a poplar leaf just left her tree…
and I think she’s falling our way.
I left that oak leaf with the maples so they could do their job…
Wondering…as today for people all over the world we grieve…
how wonderful it would be if we humans…
were as intelligent and compassionate as the leaves.
“I didn’t have time to thank that oak leaf because when I turned around
he was busy with his maple leaf friends…
helping that poplar leaf land softly on the ground.
May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life
that have, for us, thus far accrued…
and to begin each day with a word of thanks…
and thoughts of gratitude.
Today I’m thankful once again for nature
how easily she soothes the soul and brighten’s the heart
and how effortless it is to discover peace
hidden
even in her tiniest parts.
We have been doubly blessed in our life together…
I mean…who could ask of more
than to have a North Carolina cabin in the sky
and a Florida house in close proximity to the shore.
This has given us two unique perspectives…
on our journies from the mountains to the sea
experiencing two different sides to nature…and her diversity.
At home in Florida as we watch the sea gulls and pelicans soar…
we enjoy the sand, the ocean and dolphins on our walks along the shore.
In North Carolina as we watch deer and wonder in their silence if they dream…
we hike over mountains, through the valleys, across lakes, rivers and streams.
But we’ve also noticed…wherever we are…no matter what landscape or terrain.
there are some of nature’s wonders that stay with us…that remain the same.
The sky…the clouds…the birds….the way the sun, moon and stars glow…
sunrises, sunsets, rainbows…natures shares with everyone wherever they may go.
It seems wherever we may travel…there for us to see…
are different sides of nature’s beauty…her charm and artistry…
Which is the part of nature we both relish…
we both cherish and adore…
whether watching gulls and pelicans while walking barefoot on the shore
or looking out over the mountains…
watching deer stroll innocently by
from rocking chairs on the porch
of our cabin in the sky…
May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life
that have, for us, thus far accrued…
and to begin each day with a word of thanks…
and thoughts of gratitude.
Today I’m thankful for the music of nature
and for what my opinions worth
I believe it is the music of nature
that brings harmony to the Earth.
I have never been nor will I ever be a good dancer my moves are the opposite of entrancing.
but never have I…nor never will I let my lack of rhythm inhibit me from dancing.
My reasoning is simple…one day it came to me with ease
It took place years ago when I had….a conversation with the trees.
It was in the mountains…the sun was peeking through the trees when by chance
I happened to be walking and saw the trees begin to dance.
Why are you dancing I asked the trees…I don’t hear any music…
not one song
And what do you have to dance about being stuck in one place your whole life long?
“If you can’t hear the music”, the trees said
(all the while they kept dancing too),
“that has nothing to do with us and everything to do with you".
“Yes it ’s true…we are all fated to grow in one place…but this one place we can enhance….
by swaying a little, by moving our leaves and branches we have found a way to dance.”
“So why then do you dance” I asked. “Is this part of nature’s plan?”
The trees shrugged…then together smiled…”We dance because we can.?
“There are no secrets, no mysteries in why we dance…no hidden truths to be revealed.
Ask any tree and they will tell you…we dance because of how it makes us feel.”
“We never know what will happen from one day to the next…life is a game of chance…
We dance no matter the season or the weather..because we find our joy within the dance
“In every life we must find our own joy.” the trees said, “our own happiness, our own romance….
sometimes we dance because we’re joyful and sometimes it’s our joy that makes us dance.”
This bit of tree wisdom is why…at any time
you might find me dancing uninhibited and enthusiastically
after all…
if it was good enough for the trees…
then it’s good enough for me.
We noticed her at the feeder…hovering…and humming…she does not tweet
a hummingbird in October….attentively watching all the other birds eat.
So we put out our hummingbird feeder which immediately made its mark
because that hummingbird perched down to eat…and was as happy as a lark.
“Hey hummingbird!” we asked. “Why is you didn’t go
with all the other hummingbirds…down to Mexico?”
“My wings would get tired.” She said. “That whole migration thing gets old.
Besides I’m happen to be one hummingbird who simply loves the cold.”
“But how will you keep warm,” We asked, “those nights when it’s cold out there?”
“It’s called torpor.” The hummingbird smiled.
“A little something I picked up from the bears”.
“But what will you find to eat when it starts to snow?”
The hummingbird smiled again…I know where all the winter flowers grow.”
I have no trouble eating…I always get my fill
from the jasmine, snowdrops, the winter rose…the iris’s and the daffodils.”
And I am very aware when I’m flying all about
knowing which family’s like yours…keep their winter feeders out.”
We spoke with this hummingbird until she was full…then she happily flew away
and I’m happy to report she’s revisits us every day….
She comes back to our hummingbird feeder to help ward off her starvation
to visit for a while…and for some stimulating conversation.
What a wonderful surprise this year- both Deborah and I agree
something we didn’t expect to see…in October in N.C.
We didn’t know there’d be so much to learn…so much to behold
from the beak of one tiny hummingbird
who….simply…loves the cold.