I dreamt I was running to catch a train. I had to catch it to make other travel connections. Weighed down with luggage, I couldn’t run fast enough or make the jump onto the moving train. I was running and swearing and already trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly, a beautiful sound entered my dream and pulled me away from my frustration at the train rapidly disappearing down the tracks ahead. The sound pulled me partway from sleep and I recognized it as a bird singing in the gray of dawn. Only half awake, I was filled with utter joy and, in the next moment, so grateful that my first impulse on hearing the song was joy. What a gift to have that response within me. What a gift from the bird, sharing her song with the world. I was also relieved to have escaped from the train scenario. Weighed down with baggage… The bird reminded me to savor the day and not let the logistics of life weigh me down. Reminded me too that the joy within is always there for me to enjoy.
We all have that capacity right there inside us. What joy will you find today?
Baby owls (photo: Regina Kretschmer)
Like Elizabeth Barrett Browning, let me count the ways…The baby lamb bleat of Aurora Charlotte calling for her mother. Exchanging breaths with Raphael the donkey. Pegasus the unicorn running in for breakfast. The snapdragon plant I nursed back from the brink of death showing new buds of flowers. The satisfyingly mown lawn I mowed yesterday to reduce foxtail exposure for Lorca the cat and the sheep. The swallows bringing wisps of hay to build their nest in the barn. The quail calling from their blackberry habitat. The chirr of the hummingbirds in the honeysuckle. The vultures riding the thermal air currents far overhead. And yes, now I remember owls hooting softly in the night. Don’t worry about the train…
