yet another dawn in Greensboro NC, April 2024
"Wake at dawn with a winged heart
and give thanks
for another day of loving."
— Kahlil Gibran
(Grateful Living Word for the Day 4/18)
******
There is so much to love in this world:
the kindnesses of friends and strangers;
works of creativity that transform our being in ways that enliven all;
the persistence of Life, which loves to live.
In the spring of the year, we focus on the renewal and burgeoning
of the natural world.
When we see the flowers, smell the gentle rain on warming soil, watch the nest-building and the emergence of newly born beings,
our hearts seem to expand with the overwhelming wave of beautiful possibilities.
ducks going to the waterfall in inner courtyard, Friends Homes West, April 2024
But, of course, the Life in which we rejoice is not simple.
All that grows must be fed.
You know the cycle.
Simply put:
Plants feed on sunlight and on the body of Earth.
Some animals feed on the bodies of plants.
Other animals feed on the bodies of those who eat plants.
Bacteria and fungi feed on the bodies of both plants and animals.
Soil is enriched. New soil is formed.
The cycling and recycling continues.
Hawks, too, must feed their young.
outside our house, April 2024
In her poem “The Way In,” the Chickasaw writer tells us:
"To enter fire, be dry.
To enter life, be food."
When my body dies, it will receive a green burial — no embalming, no box. My body will truly become food for other beings.
In the meantime, there are other ways that I can enter Life, providing food to others — both food to feed their bodies and food to feed their hearts and spirits.
How many ways am I entering Life each day?
How many ways am I feeding others?
And how many ways am I being fed?
I am grateful for the interconnections, relationships, entanglements
of which Life is created,
It is an honor to be part of the Dance.
Sharing Trickster's Hoard 
Oneness…
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Yes!
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🤎
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The dance of seasons, of connections, of friendships. How in spring, the dance begins quietly, crouched down, close to the earth, planting seeds, chanting a benediction that the seed will grow well to nourish all of the senses, body and soul. Whether you directly plant in the dirt, or in pots, as I am doing this year, the ritual heralds the on-going dance of season, the promise of Spring. In time, the crouching position becomes one of upright, uplifting joyous movement, arms stretched out, reaching toward the sky, body twirling in joy to welcome the sprouting, the blossoms, the bees, the birdsong that serenades, the gentle rain that gives life, the caress of gentle winds. This is the time of Maypole dancing, of dancing around the old apple tree who has bedecked herself, yet again, with blossoms and later, fruit.
No other season brings me as close to the earth as Spring. Poet, John O’ Donohue said this in his work,” To Learn From Animal Being” from his book, “To Bless The Space Within Us.
“May we learn to return
And rest in the beauty
Of Animal Being.
Learn to lean low,
Leave our locked minds,
And with freed senses,
Feel the earth
Breathing with us.”
.
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“Feel the earth breathing with us.” Thank you so much!
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How incredibly uplifting and thought-provoking! Thank you for taking us to such a beautiful place, and for taking us to a place of pondering. This is a gift.
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