"As I walk the land, I am inspired to put into words that which I am experiencing"

I watched the swallow fly

Cutting through the summer evening air like a boomerang.

It was windy.

One would think the wind would dash

Such a small light bird to the ground.

But the Great Spirit gave it its uncanny ability

to stay aloft,

To turn into the wind,

To turn with the wind

At the precise moment that turning was needed.

It was so confidant in its ability.

Wish that I would be so lucky.

To know that no matter the challenges,

I, too, could turn when I needed to

To stay aloft in my life.

Come Swallow,

Teach me.

The Northern Mockingbird sits and sings his cacophony

His song glides out on the land

Touching the mesquites, the yuccas, the newly flowered plants.

It also touches me and makes me smile.

In that moment, there is no virus, there is nothing to worry about,

Just the joy of singing.

 

I promise to follow the Mockingbird’s lead,

To sing my inner joy

So that I, too, touch the earth with my heart-felt song.

As I slow my pace and stroll on the Earth Mother,

I feel the notes from my heart song coming out my feet.

The Earth smiles. Ahhhh, she says, someone knows how to live.

 

Always the birds show us how to live.

Have you ever observed the behavior of birds in the face of adversity?

For days and days they make their nests,

Yet the weather, an animal or the work of humans destroys their precious creation.

They build again, and sometimes the nest with its precious cargo gets destroyed once again.

They continue to sing and build, sing and build.

And so, I do not shrink back from what is currently happening on our planet,

I, too, sing and build, sing and build.

As the dawn breaks

And the light begins to play upon the land,

The plants turn their leaves towards these softer rays,

Since later they will turn away from its harshness to conserve moisture;

The animals who have been wandering the land since before dawn

Leave soft footsteps on the dewy grass.

The night sojourners, owls and bats, snakes and creepy-crawlies are

Beginning to return to their daytime roosts

To wait out the return of nightfall.

 

I feel joy arise within me

As my own inner sun arises

And I shine my light towards all that I lovingly gaze upon.

I greet my animal brothers and sisters.

I smile upon my friends of the plant and rock worlds.

Ready to start my day with my nature family,

I realize all is well, all is fresh and untainted.

Gratitude is my song.

Oh, Joy! What have you come to teach me today?!