Every day the world Is teaching me what I need to know to be in the world...
...in the stir of too much motion:
Hold still.
Be quiet.
Listen.”

From the essay “Still” in the book Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl

April 12, 2020 (Easter Sunday), I started a new routine.  Complete
With binoculars, a small spiral bound notebook, pen, and cup of coffee, I head out to our front porch and begin the day looking for birds that come to our yard.
But, I have found that there is far more to take in and inventory along with birds. 

You may think I am leading into all the other natural sights that are bound to be uncovered when one “sets out” to explore.
(In the time of Covid this often takes place from my own porch.)
And it’s true, I can’t help but notice a solitary Red Admiral fluttering by or a pair of rabbits nibbling tender shoots in my neighbor’s yard or my favorite squirrel “Spotty Sam” scurrying down the maple to come as close as he dare in search of a peanut handout or the 3 year old daughter deep in conversation with her daddy as they walk past our house.  It’s true-one discovery leads to another as I take the time to be outside and to look and listen. 

But this routine has uncovered something else.  It has caused to me look at and listen to my interior world.  In the quiet of these mornings on my porch, I find my inner swirl of thoughts and emotions settling down.  I find myself breathing more slowly.  I find myself waking up to new possibilities for navigating the coming day. This has helped immeasurably in dealing with a disequilibrium I think we all are feeling due to Covid and the more recent racial tensions and chaos in many cities after the most recent killing of George Floyd at the hands of police. 

Margaret Renkl’s reflection and comments above are based on her own need to get out in the natural world and place herself regularly at Mother Earth’s feet for life lessons.  

I want to learn all that the world has to teach me too.  And I know for me, it’s always going to include outdoor time, even if only just a few steps outside my front door on my porch which has become a sacred space.

I hope each of my CMC friends can also find restorative time outdoors especially now that warmer weather seems here to stay for a good while. Be well.

A window into our world—