But today there is more. After long nights of playing hard and long days of working hard, I find myself soaking in my hot tub nearly every morning and sometimes every night as well. It is a way to meditate, decompress and be ready for what the new day might offer. To take time to hear the birds every morning and watch them find their food, play in the pond and watch us from the electrical lines is a pleasure.
This morning I woke to a wonderful poem about blackbirds by Wallace Stevens posted by a friend and a very interesting wall sculpture of a black crow appeared to share as well. I was ready to listen to the day.
On the way to the hot tub I noticed a small beautiful blue jay on the table on my deck. I picked it up and studied it looking at the shiny blue and gray feathers. I thought about the source.
Next, sitting in the water I saw a very small feather land on top of the water. It floated with the grace of a lovely sail boat on the sea. Delicate and strong at the same time. Not sinking. "Walking on water" in a way. It drifted a bit in the breeze. It never over-reacted. Its core was strong and it supported all the delicate softness of the feather. It glistened. In a way it looked like a sailboat. In another way it imitated the shape of the original bird perhaps. And the risks. My husband said it could be full of mites you know. I did not remove it. How many I thought? It is so small. I watched it floating a moving a bit longer wondering what else I could learn from this moment, from this small light weight object that had the ability to fly and to float, never being sucked into the water with no air and no light.
Finally, with hesitation I removed it from the tub, it clung to my fingers and I let it go. Letting go.
Mother Nature gives us clues on how to live the good life, if we listen.
Later, John told me there is a new book out about feathers he saw reference to in the New York Review of books. I suppose I will have to find it. We are so apart of our times. We have a mass kind of thinking and cannot escape our time and how we think and respond. I suppose this is how history and cycles happen. We reflect our culture and our time.
So, today, after I go to my studio will be a wonderful time to make birds. Bird people perhaps. Maybe I will make a few bird baths, fountains and bird feeders as well. Feel it, live it, enjoy it. Soak in the moment.
