Teach Us to Praise
It’s easy to forget how fragile life is for the wild creatures we see every day; how quickly it can all end. A hungry predator. An errant step onto a busy road. The sole of a shoe, a sudden frost. And yet now, at the dawn of summer, every creature I see is drinking in the season. They don’t seem to be worried or anxious about the end, they are eating it all up right now. And in their consumption is their praise. As they take in every bit of sweet nectar, as they collect every bit of food for their ravenous young, their gratitude shines in the flash of iridescent wing and the notes of summer song.
In these difficult times, when our own security and safety and that of our neighbors is tenuous, may we learn from our wild companions. May we take in this glorious season. May we feel the sun, see the beauty, smell the aroma, taste the sweetness. May we know that life abounds all around us. May we, as they do, give praise by taking what is given to us in this moment. And may our gratitude shine in the iridescence of our brief but sparkling lives, and in the varied notes of our very human song.
Tee hee! I'll try to remember the fragility of wild animals next time I have the temerity to venture out my front door where Mother and Father Robin are raising their second batch of babies this year. Today I watered my flower pots on the front porch and was dive bombed! The babies sticking out of the nest, I assured Mother Robin they were beautiful and I wasn't there to hurt them. And to stop dive bombing me!
Beautiful as always, Denise.