Morning Lessons

 

I awaken to light streaming in the eastern facing window that my bed is nestled up to. My horizontal perspective lends me a view of little clouds of snow that have settled upon the branches of the stately Ponderosa Pines standing as sentinels around my humble abode. The sapphire sky glistens like a fine cut gem through the reaching limbs of the trees.

The heat offered from the woodstove has dwindled through the evening hours. Now I can feel a perceptible coolness to the air that lies just outside the warm confines of my quilts. I nestle deeper into the cloud like fleece sheets that embrace me and gaze at the snow. This simple sight ignites a fire deep within my soul.

How could something as simple as snow hanging in the boughs of a tree bring such bliss to my being? My internal question is quickly answered by a band of acrobats. My attention is caught as the first one swing’s into view. A wee little soul that wears a mask, sings a song of joy, and dances through the trees. A Chickadee!

I shift my nest of blankets slightly so that I am able to follow these acrobats as they move to the tree that my suet covered pinecones hang in. I marvel as these little souls seem to rejoice in everything that they do. They drift from one branch to the next. They take turns fluttering up to a pinecone just long enough to snatch a morsel, and then retreat into the enfolding inner branches to consume their treasure.

Within the moments spent watching these sages, I am reminded that inner joy comes from truly being yourself, and living life within each moment. There is nowhere that is more tantalizing or fascinating than this moment. Nature so purely reflects this wisdom, and I can’t help but absorb this insight within every moment spent with her.