Focusing

 On Saturday, Tyler and I ventured out to a place where we had never been, Coyote Hills Regional Park. It is a fascinating park with wetlands, dry hills (this time of year) and many birds. We forgot our binoculars, but even with our ordinary vision, we saw turkeys, white pelicans, egrets,hawks, ducks, avocets, and other shorebirds. As we walked along the wetlands, we met an older woman who evidently goes there a lot. She had a beautiful monocular mounted on a tripod and she invited us to take a look through it. She said that morning she had already spotted forty-six different species of birds. I liked her immediately. Standing next to her was to experience silence, even when she was speaking. I sense she had been looking for a long time.

I am grateful for those who are trying to pay attention to the earth and who value all creatures. When we re-learn this practice of attentive watching, the earth can heal us, and we all can live in balance once more.

"We are not here on Earth to be alone, but to be a part of a living community, a web of life in which all is sacred. Like the cells of our body, all of life is in constant communication, as science is just beginning to understand. No bird sings in isolation, no bud breaks open alone.

And the most central note that is present in life is its sacred nature... Hearing its presence speak to us, we feel this great bond of life that supports and nourishes us all. Today's world may still at times make us feel lonely, but we can then remember what every animal, every insect, every plant knows - and only we have forgotten: the living sacred whole."

~ Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee--

First Sip