....something larger

Yogis,
Monday morning began promptly at 5:30 am with Phoebe spotting a fox outside the window. Once he was shooed away and she was calmed out of her fox frenzy we headed out for our run. Not even to the bottom of the street another fox trots across the street in front of us, and before returning home a half hour later two more chose to make themselves seen. Monday was definitely fox day.

Tuesday morning as we open the door we are greeted by the owl. A serenade that makes me swoon. I hadn’t been hearing them this summer and was grateful for the return. One mile later we hear another one making a raucous high in the trees, the sounds slicing the thick morning air. Not two minutes later another joins in. We stop to rest and listen for a while. Tuesday was most definitely owl day.

In class Tuesday night I recount the stories. What will Wednesday be, I ask?

Wednesday dawn, not dark but not light, we spot something a few houses down. Arched back. Long bushy tail. Raccoon, I think. It turns to look and I laugh. The neighbors Maine Coon cat…..who happens not to be afraid of dogs…..which makes Phoebe understandably nervous as she mumbles under her breath. I began to wonder if the resemblance is why it is named a coon cat. Had never thought about it. As we make the final turn to head back home I see the shape once again. What is the cat doing all the way up here? It waddles by and I see the tell-tale ringed eyes. Raccoon. Wednesday was unquestionably raccoon day.

No matter how many times these encounters occur, every one is a thrill. My heart beats a little quicker and I remember it throughout the day. But why?

I do love animals, but I am realizing there is something more than that. When I encounter wildlife, and there is that split second of recognition that I see them and they see me, it reminds me that I exist within something much larger. That the natural world in which we reside is so much bigger and greater than us. And that brings me joy.

It is easy to get swept up in the human world and start believing we are the world. Day to day relationships, jobs, material objects, social media, technology, politics. They each have a tremendous magnetic pull that sucks us in and holds us hostage. It all begins to feel so important and real. I am reminded of the Truman Show where he is unknowingly living in a reality tv show. A bubble. Do the deer peer in at us, laughing and wondering how we could possibly not know?

So, I go into the quiet of the woods to listen for birds and dip my feet in the cool river water. I look to the night sky to thank the moon and get lost for a moment in the stars. I photograph bugs and I hug trees.  All to be reminded daily of how small I truly am. We are but one little piece of something so incredibly beautiful. For that I am grateful.

Thursday was heron day……. Let me know what today was for you!

Bowing down to the Universe,
SARAH