A Solstice & Holiday Musing ...

Where I used to live (a spacious home on a couple of beautiful wooded acres in another part of town) was peaceful and quietly inspiring in many ways; I still miss my trees, many of whom I had named. Here, in the city, peace and quiet need to be sought after, coaxed, and often tricked with white noise machines. But here, the inspiration is the visible day-to-day effort, even struggle ... for humans, animals, and vegetation to survive. The relentless pursuit of life is evident here. I once saw a little brown snake in the backyard under the maple tree. The little snake was hiding from predators, so I carefully put the leaves back over it, though a few days later it probably had come out to find food and had been picked up and killed ... I think, probably, by crows. The maple tree, itself, has stood there for who knows how long; it's very old and very noble. It presides over the prime part of the city lot back yard. In the autumn it turns a brilliant solid gold color, so beautiful. And cardinals, red-headed woodpeckers, and many other birds visit the feeders in the tiny front yard. At dusk, a large raccoon emerges from and later disappears back into the street drain, where apparently he has an underground route, safe from traffic. The city teems with life ... who would have thought that?

A sad sight is the occasional abandoned dog, seen wandering the streets in search of having its needs met; in the country, his or her abandoned counterparts have more terrain to cover -- though fewer cars to dodge.

Two years ago, the week before Christmas -- I think it must have been December 22nd or so -- I happened to look out the front window and saw a young couple laboriously walking down the street in the direction of Broadway. Each of them was loaded down with huge dark green trash bags which held every bit of their belongings that would fit in the bags. The woman's face was bright red and she walked a couple of steps in front of the man ... she was straining to hold onto her bags and to keep moving; the weather was very cold, sleeting, and blustery. The young man took the heaviest bag from her grasp and, in a desperate moment, grabbed the empty garbage can that had been left lying on the ground near the road by my neighbor. He crammed the garbage can with some of the bags and then these two precious people continued trudging along, hardly missing a beat, with the garbage can in tow, bouncing and scraping along the pavement. I was rapt in awe and sadness. I realized that they had probably been turned out of their home for lack of rent or mortgage money; the economy had tanked and the downturn's effect was dominating the news. But when you see the fall-out walking in front of your house, the face of the news becomes unforgettable.

I have realized that when you get in touch with someone else's feelings, you get in touch with your own feelings, too. We humans truly are all connected; we living beings (all) are interconnected; it is a bond at both a spiritual and cellular level.

Yes, I can feel that this post is moving in the direction of finding the best of what is in us, especially at this introspective, longest-night time of year. Try to help one needy being ... a person, an animal, a noble tree. And if you can help more than one needy being, please do.

My wish for one and all is peace, love, light, joy, blessings, awareness, and compassion.