Abundance

There is a small patch of wild Blueberries just South of the cabin. This is the time of year when I can go and pick some every morning to have for breakfast. I am not the only person who picks Blueberries from these plants. Later in the day I know that Chipmunk will show up and take her share, but at least for now, I know more will ripen for us to pick tomorrow. This gets me thinking about how, left to her own devices, Earth always provides in overwhelming abundance. More berries will come every day until that plants are done, then there will be other types of berries or apples or potatoes or something. I just have to notice what it is. I also have to remember that what is available might not be what I want. If I want Blueberries in March or Garlic in June, it might seem like berries and Garlic are scarce, but if I want Apples in September, and Blueberries in July I can see the abundance. This reminds me that real abundance isn't about what I want, but noticing what is. Today, I will be resisting the invitation to think that I have to protect the Blueberry patch in order to get my share, and remembering that if Chipmunk eats all the Blueberries, there will be something else. Declining the invitation to think only of myself will allow me to see what is available, and what lesson it has to offer.

Crazy Squirrel

As I sat on the Western porch, I saw Squirrel careening back and forth next to a tree. He was making tight circles, like he was chasing his tail. My first thought was that he was crazy. Then I wondered what he thought of me. I human who could dance and sing and jump up and down and chase my own tail, just for fun, and all I was doing was standing there watching him. It made me wonder who the crazy one was.

Thief!

I heard a group of Jays out in the Northwestern forest this morning. It sounded like they were chasing someone off. I have been taught to hear their call as, “Thief! Thief!” Hearing their calls is rarer this year. I have been told that Jays are struggling. It may be because of pesticides thinning their shells or that we are destroying their habitat, but when I think about their, “Thief, thief!” I wonder who they are talking to?

Cutworm's Strand

The strand that Cutworm hangs on is sometimes more massive than Cutworm was to begin with. My culture can not understand this. To my culture, a being can not expel something that is more massive that it was in the first place. Yet Cutworm hangs on end of her strand anyway. She is not bound by the limitations of my culture's understanding. This gets me thinking about the wonders that float around me all the time, like Cutworm on the end of her strand. And, like Cutworm's strand, they will exist whether I understand them or not. Today, I will be pondering Cutworm and her strand in the context of what I have considered impossible. I wonder what will be made possible by this pondering?

Sun Lesson

As I sat outside this morning a single shaft of light shone through the trees in Pine Grove. It appeared to be shinning directly at me. I could move my head from left to right and it would follow me. This illusion reminded me of my culture's invitation to think that growing my importance is a goal I should take up. My culture tells me that being important comes for attracting attention to myself and my accomplishments. The Sun teaches me that there is no one more important than anyone else. Sun teaches me this by shinning her rays on everyone equally. Today, I will be paying attention to times when I forget that the Sun shines for everyone.

Cutworm Faith

Cutworm dangles in the air at the end of a strand thousands of times as long as she is. She dangles waiting for the breeze to push her to a tree or for something to cut the strand floating her to the ground. She dangles like a lure at the end of a fishing line vulnerable to any of the many Birds flying past looking for food, but this is how she moves form place to place. When the food at one location runs out, she has to move on to stay alive. She could walk, but that would take days. Floating is faster. Cutworm's journey gets me thinking about faith. Cutworm doesn't know where she'll end up when she set out on the end of her strand, but she goes anyway. Faith is a reminder that I can't know what's going to happen. My job is to do the next right thing. What will happen next is out of my control. Like Cutworm on her strand, I reel out my choices having faith that the letting the wind take me where it will.

Snake Possibilities

On the woodpile were Chipmunk, Wren, and Snake. Chipmunk and Wren may have been hunting, but I could not see why Snake was there. It was too early for sunning, and lying on top of a log on top of the woodpile provided no cover for hunting. I generally resist the temptation to describe my creature cousin's actions in human terms, but I have seen more and more often creatures acting in ways that don't fit into the limited group of options my culture has allowed them. Snake didn't seem to be hunting, hiding, or mating. What if she was just hanging out? What if she wasn't doing anything? Today, I will be on the lookout for actions that stand outside of what I expect. What effect will this have on my ideas about what is possible?