...Morning Coffee...

Thirty years ago, I would have never (and I mean that with a capital ‘N’) done what I do now most mornings. For example, I would have never sat and contemplated the world through a picture window. There wasn’t any time for such idle nonsense. What I would do is check the thermometer, looked to the sky for rain clouds and drink my coffee while putting my makeup on. I would have been speeding around the house like Speedy Gonzales, getting ready for work, putting a load of wash in, making lunches, eating on the run, and rushing around during morning rush hour shuttling kids off to school before the daily commute to my 9 to 5. All of this, I did before I took my first breath of fresh air!

If someone told me back then, I would be sitting at my dining room table drinking coffee out of a coffee mug large enough to be a cereal bowl and watching a variety of birds coming and going as they build their nests and forging for food in my backyard, frankly, I would have said, “Yeah, right, in my dreams!” That dream was like all the rest I had...it wasn’t going to happen any time soon!

This morning instead of reading or writing I took my bowl-sized cup of coffee outside and watched, and listened to nature in and around my little world. Once I managed to block out the usual sounds of daily commuters, I focused on the wonders going on in my own backyard and how it applies to the world in which we live. The ants were marching one by one, collectively working together to support the colony. Inchworms were measuring the Marigolds (really, they were...I have Marigolds in the flower garden). Social butterflies flitting around flower to flower. Blue Jays, Robins, Morning Doves, Wrens, Hummingbirds, Blackbirds, and Cardinals feeding on the abundance of seeds, bugs, and acorns that our yard provides. All of them minding their own business, except for the pesky mosquitoes and flies, which are not prejudice who or what they irritate. And lastly, no matter how many times we’ve tried to discourage the squirrels from digging up my bulbs, they sneak around and loot the garden with the quickness of a thief. 

By no means am I an expert on this subject, and it doesn’t take someone with the intelligence of Einstein to observe how human and animal social structures interrelate. We interact with a variety of similarities, the obvious being, to live we need oxygen and nourishment, but what is similar is how practical attempts to survive on a daily basis are solved. I believe this is starting to sound like a term paper, so the best thing for me to do is back up, punt, and get back to the simplistic ponderings I started to write about. Recently, it’s been pointed out to me how easily I can get off track and wonder if it’s a medical thing…yikes!

Returning to my harmonious moment in the backyard garden, the similarities I saw were; social groups, employees, families, homemakers, thieves, home wreckers, racism, acceptance, and to sum it up, an industrial nation of living creatures making their way to survive in the world. I am saddened when I hear of a senseless act of violence on TV, and wake the next morning to find a pile of feathers, knowing an innocent little life was lost to a predator. I am filled with joy when I hear the newly hatched nestlings being fed by their nurturing parents. I am angry when a flock of Crows scares off the other birds or raids a nest. I am satisfied when the Red Tailed Hawk runs the Crows out of its territory with the precision of a fighter jet.

Off in the distance the sound of a train whistle echoed, taking my mind back to a different time. A reminder when my life was filled fulfilled with simple pleasures, like the smell of Lilies of the Valley and Lilacs. Searching for the elusive four-leaf clover and making clover necklaces, Kool-Aid tea parties and running through a sprinkler. When was the last time you poured yourself a generous cup of coffee or tea and listened (I mean really listen), to the great symphony nature performs for free?

Enjoy your day with peace and love…