Sunday, March 29, 2020 was the second (and last) day of the Deep Spring Meditation Center virtual retreat with Barbara Brodsky, Aaron, and John Orr. In the afternoon, I went to Galt Nature Preserve for my walking meditation.
This is the latest/driest I have been here in Southwest Florida. The flora I am familiar with and love, including Sweet Acacia, has almost died back entirely. New (unfamiliar) flora is coming forth.
I took a short video of the wind singing through the dry palms sounding just like a far-away water fall.
As I arrived back at my car, hawk flew directly overhead swooping low!
Juvenile eagle soared with its wide, young wings, just above the horizon, about 300 yards away. This eaglet was born here in the preserve earlier this season, in the nest a short distance from the drive. December seems so very long ago now.
Yellow police tape surrounds the pavilion as though the deserted picnic tables had recently been the scene of a crime.
The sun was hot on my skin.
The thermometer on the instrument panel indicated 87 degrees. All season I had stayed in the house during the heat of the day, protecting myself from the discomfort.
The past two afternoons while ‘on retreat’ I had walked in the heat.
Tenderly, I witnessed a pattern in my past of wanting to avoid being uncomfortable. My throat tightened around the thought that perhaps we miss too much….
I turned the air conditioning off before starting the engine in the stifling hot car which has black interior and was parked in the hot tropical sun.
I pushed the button to lower the windows and was amazed how refreshing the air felt.
In his closing comments, John Orr spoke of aging and of the current conditions in our world. He said so much is falling away, but even though there is suffering, we can reflect with gratitude on what has been wonderful and beautiful. We can ask, “What endures?”
May this humble human remember….
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