Thoughts & Practice

This morning I was sitting on the front porch of my cabin in the midst of a rain storm. There was a cacophony of sound and it was difficult to “hear myself think.” So I “listened” to the rain storm that surrounded me, let the sound wash over me, and was Present in the moment. There was nothing pressing for me to do and no place to be but here. So “here” I was. And what was more, I realized nature seemed in no rush to be anywhere else or do something else; rain was in this moment with all its gifts and sounds and smells and feels.

I wonder how often many of miss the opportunity just to be here. And I wonder in the midst of the many loud voices speaking in our society these days how I might be fully Present without taking sides; kind of the way rain just is without demanding or judgment. Nature is certainly that way.

I find when I sit with nature (and not just in the woods at our cabin), my heart slows a bit and I breathe a bit easier. I see things I have missed and I appreciate being alive. I wonder if that might be something worth doing more often, sitting with and listening to nature? What might it teach me, show me, allow for me?

I encourage you to take a moment and some space to be with nature even in the busy-ness of a bustling city. Let the birds sing you a song, the clouds paint you a picture, the trees remain resolutely present through all seasons.