We traveled by bus from Lake Louise to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies. The bus ride included stops to see various examples of God’s beautiful creation, the earth we live on. We awoke Saturday morning to rain; looking out, Linda noticed the birds that were in the corners adjacent to our back door. It was one of the most beautiful and serene sights at the Fairmont Park Lodge. I could have spent the whole day just staring at this wonder of nature; knowing I couldn’t, I took many photos as shown above.
One of the nice things about our three weeks in Alaska and Canada was the fact that we stopped thinking about what was happening in Fredericksburg. It took three or four days, but by the time we rode the wilderness bus in Denali National Park, seeing Grizzly Bears, Dall Sheep, Caribou, Elk, Moose, and of course our American Eagles, we were living our vacation. All thoughts of Fredericksburg and our duties at St. George’s Episcopal Church had left our consciousness. We were living our vacation.
Most of us do not take enough time to live in the present time. We are always worrying about what we left undone; and how things are going without our being there to help; and what kind of mess or confusion will we find when we return home.
We learned that things went just fine while we were away. The fact that we were not texting; not emailing; not even thinking about our duties, meant that we were truly living in the present time. Richard Rohr and Eckhart Tolle speaks of this as living in the now.
We do miss a lot by not living in the present. My wife and I try to walk every morning; yes, we talk about what we will do the rest of the day, but we also talk with neighbors, wave to others driving by, notice the eagles and hawks floating in the air. We also see what others are doing in their gardens, or new construction on houses in the neighborhood. We also notice the local swim team training at the community pool. This is living in the now, living in the present.
We just purchased a new patio set; now I can sit in our back yard that was designed to attract birds (and squirrels); we have many feeders and a constantly running fountain, all designed to attract God’s creatures. If all works well, I can sit there reading, or writing, and watch the birds land on each of the feeders, drink from the water, and squabble over the seed on the ground. This worked when I was writing my dissertation on our patio in New Jersey, so I pray that this will repeat.
If this does, I will take the time just to watch and listen to the wonders of God’s creation that we have in our very own back yard.
Life is good!.
Meditating to Heal 