....the windows

Yogis,
Our great room faces the back yard and is lined with windows.  I always think of these as both my artwork and movie screen.

I often walk to the windows and peek out to see what’s going on. Much of the year there is plenty going on. Birds arguing over who gets to nest in the house attached to the garage. Sparrows standing on the edge of the birdbath fluffing their wet feathers. Squirrels chasing each other in circles and deer biting the buds off my black eyed susans.

The woods so dense with leaves you would never know anyone lives beyond. The garden glows with color. Butterflies float and bees take their work seriously. A flurry of activity.

Winter though, is different.

This morning as I sat at the table something caught my eye out the window. I turned in time to see a flash of red as our resident woodpecker flew through the yard. Landing he prepared for pecking. How could I not notice with a background that now contains only gray?

My windows offer a different glimpse this season. Winter, related to the element of earth, carries the energies of quiet and stillness. On most of my visits to the window there is nothing to see. Everything lies at rest. A hush.

Yet, what better time to notice.

The other day I was thinking of the fox when I looked out to see one walking the ridge. I could see him clearly in the distance. No brush or leaves obstructing my view. My gaze followed as he ambled through yards and into the woods. Stopping to smell. The black of his lower legs resembling boots.

Like the woodpecker, in any other season I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

This too is our time to get quiet and still. A pause. The quieter we are, the more we will notice. In our own lives, in our relationships and in the world around us.

The other seasons are the symphony. Each instrument playing its part in unison to surround us with song. Winter though, is the spotlight shined on the soloist. How we can appreciate the trumpet more. How the violin brings us to tears.

Noticing,
SARAH