....Among the Amazements

 

The Allegheny River in Freeport, PA (sjs photo)

I am a major fan of the poetry of Mary Oliver because she was so present, so aware, so much in the moment of which she experienced and reflected in her poetry. 

As part of my daily Quiet Time, I always read a poem and then reflect and respond. No surprise, many days the poem is one penned by Mary Oliver.  Today's next-page-in-the-book poem was "Serengeti," and described the beauty, power and fear experienced as the poet watched lions on the African savannah. 

The piece contains the line "to live on this earth among the amazements." 

I have a bird feeder in my backyard. It was one of the first things purchased and placed when I moved in. It is there because my father built and placed a bird feeder in the yard directly outside the kitchen window so my mother, who spent significant time in that room, could watch and enjoy the birds in all the seasons of the year and of the family. So too, my bird feeder is best seen outside the kitchen window (although I don't spend nearly as much time there....).

Following my Quiet Time, I went out back to feed the birds and noticed the red squirrel that had not been around for few days. Recently, this squirrel and I...we umm...we kind of....well....for lack of a better word and insinuating nothing more...we've bonded.  Seriously. He sees me and doesn't quickly run, yet stops and stares and approaches cautiously, toward me.  I hold up a hand, he stops and then I throw him some peanuts, he gathers one-at-a-time and scurries away to bury each peanut in the yard under the pine tree or the locust trees. This is our routine.

As this suburban bit of nature unfolded, I was still thinking about Mary Oliver's poem on the lions of the Serengeti and here, thought I,  are the red squirrels of the South Hills.  Both amazing in their own ways. 

I think of my mother often, she was literally born in the house where she lived her entire life and raised her family. Her honeymoon trip to Nova Scotia was the first and only time she saw the ocean. She loved flowers and drives in the country and walks in the woods. In the summertime after spending hours gardening, she would sit on the front porch and watch the traffic go by and be present.  Some of my treasured moments are sitting with her on the front porch, just watching and being present with Mum and the moment.

There is an abundance of opportunities right here and now and in front of us to, as the poet pens, be "among the amazements." 

May we be centered enough, aware enough and wise enough to notice and be grateful.