Blog 8 The Ground we walk on.

We take safety for granted and rarely look down when we walk. However when you walk “The Hill” or any trail, with a sense of presence you pay attention to more than the ground. If you don’t at some point you are libel to hurt yourself, missing that big rock, a ledge or that slippery spot in the gravel. However today I am not talking about safety I am talking about being present to beauty in nature. It’s the very reason I keep my senses open and don’t chose to ride a mountain bike. I don’t want to miss anything. I don’t want to miss the red tail hawk feather, the wildflowers seen up close in the detail of their beauty, the fox, coyote, bob cat or a soaring predator. Even the spam can has meaning in it’s history of having been left by a hunter probably well over 50 years ago.

I talk to animals when I see them and I am rewarded by close up shots of fox and bobcat that I have included in the book. When I talk to them they most always stop, look and listen providing me with a close up invaluable relational experience. I am totally present to them and they are totally present to me..

It makes my life more meaningful to know these many levels of beauty and connection exist. I once assumed coyotes were simply gray scrubby animals until one ran directly at me and I saw the beauty of his fur in the sun. I was forced to notice his, gray, orange and white fur up close. It was a huge rush. It was much less about fear and more about astonishment. Witnessing his energy as he ran directly toward me and then vanishing right before my eyes. “Where in the….did he go?” These experiences enrich my life, allow me to be more present to myself and others and add meaning. to what many would consider out of nothingness.

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