This is the view from our living room windows. A good friend took this picture last week while visiting with his family. Ten years ago we were both single guys on the loose acting out a second adolescence and now are both married with kids... Time.. flies...
Early in the morning and on clear days on the right a huge volcano is visible which is part of a national park. Every time I see it, its still like - wow that's big! It provides perspective for us, people, of time and nature as something that vastly exceeds our human life spans. Speaking personally sometimes its easy to forget this.
Years ago I learned about farming, walking and working barefoot on foothills below the volcano on land across from my martial arts school's training center. In the afternoon the earth would be so warm from the sun or during rainy season muddy and slippery in a very elemental way. Surprising how much one can feel through the soles of one's feet! One day I remember standing barefoot feeling rooted in a very good spot, watching bamboo sway and plants vibrate with the wind and sun and suddenly there was the thought, "the earth is alive and I am part of it". There was something both incredibly finite and infinite about that moment, the sense of being part of something vast and complex, yet alive, vibrant and immediate. Its the same feeling but different scale as holding a handful of seeds and feeling the energy, the potential for growth and expression, some powerful and ancient dance that we are part of yet only slightly understand. Human agency seems irrelevant in this context, our job seems to be to witness, to experience and wonder.
Watching the fog on the hills or cover the landscape and blow right over our porch is pretty cool.
Early morning I love watching the sky turn from dark blue black to pink and orange and then the sun crest over the hills. Unfortunately if I am watching it, that means I am late with my morning meditation but I guess everything has a tradeoff...
May my eyes, heart and soles of my feet always be open to these joys!
May clouds, flowers and mountains always inspire and excite!
May good friends continue to grace and share our lives!
May my children continue to grow and learn with respect and wonder!
May I gain in wisdom, insight and humility.
Wow. I really needed to hear/see this! Living in the Tenderloin of San Francisco, a real concrete jungle, lately I've been feeling a great longing for connection with the earth. To stand in awe and to witness. I wish that everyone in this neighborhood could have the chance to walk barefoot beneath the volcano.
ReplyDeleteIt is strange how alienated we manage to live from the earth. Gotta love those green patches or flowers that manage to live in our concrete jungles and especially the people who tend them. Glad you liked this - thanks for stopping by!
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