A good rain has finally come to California and it feels like heaven. Driving this morning, I noticed a group of shore birds huddled together on a sandbar along the river mouth, while the ocean churned a dark grey-blue behind them. I love these days of wild weather the best and my heart soaks up the rainy weather like a garden left too long without tending. Some of that which I have planted in my life may come back and flourish, but I see that some has withered and will need to be plucked away to prepare for new growth. Our lives are gardens, after all.
It is dark and quiet outside now and I find that I miss the fireworks and sounds of celebration in my neighborhood as the People stepped out on a cold night to bring in their new year. Sweet sounds of happiness coming from all corners of my little world. But, as I sit here well after the midnight hour, I realize that the silence is more precious to me and harder to come by. I have always been something of a night owl and it is silence that I love. The chi of the world is calm and it is easier to relax thoughts into expanded places. Sometimes, I will happily lie awake in peace, just listening to the night for hours. It nourishes a deep part of me. The sound of the train off in the distance making its way along the coast. His breathing. I miss the sound of owls, for their talk makes my heart sing, though even here I will hear the occasional coyote yipping in the distance, mixed with the sounds of faraway dogs barking their messages to each other. I need to know I am a part of Nature, not the societal construct. So, I listen. I remember who I am. That is when peace washes over me.
Jane Marshall
Dana Point
California