This comment was by Paul Loesch in reference to the post – Walk Into a Deeper Sense of Ecology
For many years, we used to rent a cabin in the local mountains on most three day weekends. The cabin nestled in the woods, overlooked a small lake and renewed our sense of peace, tranquility, and oneness with all creation.
The portion of our drive that began the ascent up the mountain and into the forest provided many changes of vegetation and landscape. At the point where the shrubs faded into forests, the sense that we were almost to the cabin seeped into us and the turmoils of city life began oozing away.
Over twenty years ago, we decided that the life we enjoyed on those weekends could become our everyday life. There were trade-offs, of course, and some large sacrifices to be made, but the fullest living of life always calls for these. In fact, one of the biggest lessons in life is the realization of how much was gained through choosing to make those sacrifices, and how much regret arose from the times of choosing not to.
Today, we watch hummingbird dogfights as one bird darts toward another who dared to want to drink from the same feeder. Day by day, we witness changes in the trees and the forest nearest us and look over to the next ridge and mountain to observe changes occurring there. The tune played by the rustle of the leaves on the trees awakens us each morning. The vibrancy of life pulses and throbs every day through the trees and wildlife on this mountain. Stopping to notice it, to feel its presence and its power, and to appreciate its simple beauty makes living in a place like this entirely different from living anywhere else.
The forest surrounding our mountain home rejuvenates our spirits each and every day. Even after more than twenty years of being here, nothing can be taken for granted. Nature offers us daily lessons in gratitude and rewards us when we learn those lessons.
Some years, the oaks will be heavy with acorns and the squirrels, chipmunks, Stellars Jays and woodpeckers will crowd their branches. The pine trees will be heavy laden with cones which will drop onto our roof and roll down the peak with a clatter. Other years will be dry and the pine cones and acorns become scarce. The good times and the lean times of the forest offer a clear parallel to the days and years of our lives. We are grateful for both.
The gratitude we learn through the forest’s lessons extends throughout our day and throughout every aspect of our lives. To be grateful in all things, I believe, gives us our best opportunity to be at one with the Divine.
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