0n Hands and Knees

Much of nature is small. We humans have no choice but to get down on hands and knees if we want to see or smell the small creatures - our relatives in the family of the natural world.
  
We first smell the atmosphere of the small.  Sometimes pleasant - a perfume of sorts. Sometimes musky and a bit unpleasant. Always curious.

Then one sees the threads and lumps of earth - dirt. Perhaps a worm is at work stirring up the microbes. Air and water, minerals, gasses and remains of living organisms. All of this looks and smells of the earth.

In springtime of the northern hemisphere as the snow and ice melt little ponds begin to form. That melt water is filled with life.  Little red spiders.  Black beetles move about. Crustaceans take many forms. one looks like a galleon  -  a tiny ship under full sail.  All this in a few drops of clear water.  It is a wonderland of the North snow country.

 All of this and more is the Spring Time world. On land one can find lichens and molds, mosses and vines - all in tiny form. Mushrooms begin to appear and expand.

Hands and knees can be hazardous for older humans.
Take it from me - if one wishes to be a hands and knees person - have family members or trustworthy younger friends at hands Otherwise you may join those little creatures and become part of their nourishment.  

Am I the Only One

In High School there was a large bodied boy named Sam. When it was Gym class time Mr S the teacher insisted that we  all  participate. 

 I decided to stay out of the way of Sam because I was a slim little stick of a boy. Now and then I was at the bottom of a pile of boys with Sam on top. No fun in that.

Upon graduation Sam went to  Minneapolis to do some wrestling. We heard that he got absolutely beaten into a pulp. How did us little people react. I for one was quietly pleased.

There is a word for that  in the German language   SCHADENFRUEDE.  It means taking pleasure in the misfortune of others.
   
A pretty girl gets jilted by a boy friend or lover. Friends say to themselves: She was rather shallow you know. And all that lip stick!

 At one church service where I was speaking, a man stood up and spoke up, saying that what I was saying was wrong.  I allowed him to go on talking.  Afterwards people were quite offended that he had gotten up and done that. I got some pleasure out of that.

This is a personal flaw for most of us.  I for one commit myself to personal Honesty and more Kindness to all. It is a long word but worth remembering. Schadenfreuede

Delton

THE BERLIN WALL

hERE i WAS AS ONE OF A GROUP

Study to be Quiet

Study to be Quiet

Izaac Walton, the patron saint of all fisher women and men said those words. The words are on a stained glass window in Winchester Cathedral in England.  Some of you may have been there.  I read them in a book by Sigurd Olson, a writer about the out of doors. 

When he writes about fly fishing on northern Minnesota streams the reader feels like being quiet as in a cathedral church.  Actually being in a pine forest has the same effect for me. Or standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Places that remind a person of the vastness of the creation create respect and awe. 

It does take learning to be quiet. We are trained to be busy so easily fall into boredom. Talk radio and endless TV shows train us to get on to the next thing. Our bodies are eager for more stimulation.

I have been studying to be quiet and have found that I am a hard case. Meditation has been part of my background but the culture and my natural tendencies conspire to turn me away from a serene life style. in past years I walked out in the natural world which calmed me and provided quiet. It was like being in a vast classroom under the open sky and the weather. Then came a stroke and limits were imposed. 

So what am I doing now to reclaim the classroom for learning to be Quiet?

1. Writing about this state of affairs. This essay is a step

2. Listen to the sounds of weather.

3. Watch the weather. Use aids like Windy.com

4. Be patient