Breathe fresh air...NOW!

13 September 2012

36 degrees Fahrenheit this morning.  I wimped out and drove the kids to school all of four blocks.  Right now you are with me in the meditation garden created in 2009.  Medora junipers embrace the back of your chair.  Winnipeg roses persist in their last season blossoms of splendor.  Leggy rose color petunias and tall, proud celosias hang onto their last bit of life.  Flame grass dons it's feathery crown as if in a golden wheat field.  Ginormous rose and purple asters burst color in back of purple stalks of Russian sage.  Norwegian spruce bushes alternate with climbing purple clematis.  Bird feeders, suet cakes and hummingbird nectar draw friends in flight.  A tall, volunteer ash tree shades the gazebo, flanked by the persistent dogwood I once tried to kill (sorry to admit).

!My healing prayer for you and I today is GO OUTSIDE!  GO!

Even if you only have fifteen minutes, bask in the sun, freeze in the cold, breathe in crisp air, dance in the rain,  put your hand into the soil, step deep in the waters of rivers, seas, oceans or creeks that embrace our swimming sisters and brothers.  Oneness beckons a pause as we are reflected in a larger reality called creation.

My husband who is a go getting, dare devil, humorous, loving man who likes to be in motion even finds spiritual peace outside.  Even in 20 degrees below zero, I encourage him to strap on the cross country skis and glide into a rhythm that echoes a heartbeat.  Our daughters stand open mouthed, jaws dropped when star gazing and learning how distant and close those stars, planets and mysteries are to our existence.  Our son joins friends camping and laughing in the rejuvenating time.

GO!  GO OUTSIDE...PLEASE!  Let God speak to your heart, your mind, your soul in those uninterrupted, de-electroniced, opened  moments made for you and you for them.  No expectations.  No pressures.  Nothing but wonder, mystery, and perspective offered as you walk via gravity that holds your body to the dust from which you came.

As you discover this, make a vow to spend some time out here every day.  Let those minutes turn into hours. (Much recommended by my friends who have an affinity for deer stands and fishing holes.)  Worship out here and realize there are those on the planet who have no choice but to brave the elements.  Hear the ones who hunger, the ones who thirst, the ones who ache.  Recognize we are walking on common ground.

Here's to day 13 out of 40.  I took the estrogen patch off yesterday.  Flying solo now.  I rest in God's embrace outside, collecting seeds of wisdom and sharing words that were gifted to me by countless mentors and friends.  Go.  Go outside... and get a breath of fresh air.