Chipmunk Balance

There was a small Chipmunk hunting in a patch of grass just North of the cabin. I was struck by the balance she struck between having her head down in the grass, and having it up on the alert for what was going on around her. I admired her ability to find this balance between doing and watching, between action and vigilance. My culture invites me to be off balance, favoring vigilance over action. I am left wondering about the effects these invitations have on my experience and choices.

Sun Arc

The Sun's arc continues to rise and the daylight hours expand. I appreciate more light and the late evening sunsets, but more important for me is being reminded of the importance of every moment, light or dark.

Wren Lesson

As I sat outside this morning I saw a small group of Wrens. It took me a while to realize it was the baby Wrens and a parent flying around together. Is this how the parents teach their babies how to find food? There didn't seem to be any instruction, simply the parents flying from log to log pecking at whatever was there. The chicks were doing the same. I was struck by the power of this form of teaching. Not saying but doing. Today, I will be paying attention to times when I am telling someone what to and my words do not match up with my actions.

Eyes Open

I walk outside this morning and remember to keep my head up and eyes open. It occurs to me as I do that there is a certain pace that is required for me to remember to keep my head up. If I am moving too fast I forget to keep my eyes open. When I move to fast I only get to see Deer's tail as she bolts into the woods. With my head up and my eyes open I can sometimes get to hang out with her for a while. Today, I will be paying attention to my pace.

Center

My culture invites me to consider centeredness in a way that promotes an ego, and entity that prioritizes individualizing needs and wants. There is another way to take up centeredness that defuses ego. This kind of centeredness invites me into a place of profound interconnection. In this form I am centered when I realize I am a part of everything around me. I become no more or less important than the brightest star or the smallest leaf. There is no place for ego in this center, yet everything is there.

Bad Weather

My culture teaches me to think about cold and wet and rainy weather as bad weather. It occurs to me that a plant that hasn't felt rain for a week would think about wet weather as good weather. Rain is how the Earth brings water back to the ground. Cold is how the Earth slows things down and lets the land rest. Wind is how the Earth moves things. This gets me paying attention to how what is bad for me is not necessarily bad for everyone. Today I will be paying attention to how cultural invitations can inform assumptions I make about other people's experience.

Wood Pile

Here at the cabin, the firewood cycle is perpetual. This is the time of year when the unused wood from last year gets moved out so the newer wood can go behind it. There is a fare amount from last year to be moved, and looking at it all can be overwhelming. I find it useful to remember that no matter how much wood there is to move, I will movie it one piece at a time. Moving one piece of wood doesn't seem overwhelming. When I reposition my thinking in this way, the job is no longer overwhelming. Today, I will keep in mind that everything I do in my life happens the same way I move the wood pile, one piece, one step, one day at a time.

New Sound

As I sat outside this morning, I heard sound I had not heard before. It sounded like two wood blocks knocking together. When it stopped the familiar sounds returned. Then it would start again. The second time, there was a reply. These sounds seemed to move closer to me before finally ending. This got me thinking about how there are always new experiences available to me even in such a familiar spot. Today, I will be on the lookout for the unfamiliar in the familiar.

Moon Perspective

At this time in the Moon's cycle, it is up during the day. I appreciate Moon's perspective. A troubling thought enters my head, and I look up at Moon and wonder what my thought would look like from up there. Then it disappears.

Wren Lesson II

The Wrens are gone. As I ate my breakfast I noticed that there wasn't much activity at the birdhouse. I waited and waited, but the parents never arrived. Nor were they flying around the yard or sitting in the tree singing. When I was done eating, I walked down to the birdhouse and looked inside. The chicks were gone. This got me thinking about perspective. To me, the Wrens are gone. To them they are living their lives. They were here, now they are somewhere else. Today, I will be remembering that my perspective is only one of many. I will be noticing how my perspective can distract me from a richer experience of what is going on around me.

Wren Lesson

There are still three Wren chicks in the nest. I see them when their parents arrive with food. As I watch them, I know that they might not all survive and fly from the nest. This gets me thinking about my expectations. It is so easy for me to forget that today is a gift. Everyone I care about who was alive yesterday is still alive today as far as I know, but that can change in an instant. Today, I will be cherishing the people in my life, and paying attention to how taking them for granted can sneak back and blind me once again.

Same

In my culture it is essential that I perceive people who are struggling as different form me. If I don't believe that their struggle is somehow a result of choices or mistakes they made, choices that I never would, it might become obvious to me that I could easily find myself in the same situation. Today, I will stand up against ideas that invite me to separate myself from my struggling cousins remembering that how we treat others in difficult times is how I will be treated when it is my turn.

Wren Work

A family of Wren's live about twenty feet from the cabin. There are three chicks in the birdhouse. The parents fly in sometimes as frequently as every three seconds. It seems to me that the parents are working hard. This gets me thinking about the idea of hard work and the assumptions I make in evaluating the work and lives of others. Then I realize that I don't know if the Wrens think the work they are doing is hard. I don't even know if they think about it as work. Then I realize I don't know this about anyone. Today, I will be paying attention to the assumptions I make about others and what ideas I use to evaluate my life in relation to the people around me.

Far Away

When I was far away at first I experienced everything as familiar. I had to work hard to see through my assumptions and see what was new more clearly. I will work to pat attention to how my assumptions blind me now that I am back home.

Phoebe Life

There are baby Phoebes in the woodshed. We were not sure the Phoebes would return this year, but they did, as they have every year since we came to the cabin. And so, life begins again. This reminds me that my life begins again and again with every breath. A new beginning is given to me with every Sunrise, if I choose to see it.

Balance

Phoebe sits on the wood pile waiting for the insects to shake off the morning rain and take flight. Chipmunk skitters around the ground and finds them sheltering under blades of grass. On a brighter day, Chipmunk would be waiting. This gets me thinking about the balance of everything. Today, Chipmunk has an easier time, tomorrow it might be Phoebe's turn, the next day might be for the insects. I am left wondering how I might live more closely connected to this simple balance.

Man or Mouse

My culture asks me, “Are you a Man or a Mouse?” I know what I'm supposed to answer, but I can't help thinking about the times when it would be great to be Mouse. My carbon footprint would be greatly diminished if I were Mouse, and plane seats would provide ample space for me to be comfortable. In the end however, I am a Man. As I ponder all this, the Rain begins. A Deer who has been walking through the back meadow stops under a Tree just Northwest of the cabin. Eventually, the Rain seeps through the branches and leaves, and there is no more shelter. Deer moves on. As I sit and watch from the dry porch, I appreciate the momentary alignment of our desires. It seems that when the rain starts, Man and Deer and perhaps even Mouse all just want to stay dry.

Moon Shine

Last night I noticed the Moon glowing in the through the dew on the window. It got me thinking about how the shine of the Moon is a reflection of the Sun. Their relationship drew my attention out to a larger frame where, in that moment, the Sun had not set for the Moon. Moon was gazing on the Sun and reflecting that light back to me. I am left wondering what I was reflecting back to Moon, that Moon sent on to Sun.

Summer Blanket

As I sit, I notice that the white blanket of Winter has been replaced by the green blanket of Spring. Once again Vole and Mouse can make there way around the Forest floor without being seen by Hawk and Owl. This gets me thinking about how much goes on in the Forest that I don't see. The morning Sun illuminates thousands of webs marking trails where Spider has passed by. I am reminded of the abundance and ferocity of life that can go unnoticed if I don't pay attention.

Bumble Bee

As I sit this morning, I notice Bumble Bee bouncing off the screen. I remember that it was not long ago that we humans finally understood how Bumble Bee flies. It occurred to me that our lack of understanding did not effect Bumble Bee, who continued to fly anyway. Bumble Bee reminds me that the reasons why we act are less important than taking action in the first place.