Many times outdoors
in rustic settings the story of balance and commitment rises to the level of
consciousness Nature spurns a soul towards. I've sat in precarious places
barefoot completely aware of the dangers at hand or beneath me, but held
captive by the beauty of my surroundings was transfixed, safely, to a spot
within the moment of danger and beauty. It is a wonderful state of being I have
shared with animals themselves gathered up in the wonder at hand, but
vulnerable in their worship and awe to the lone predator who might not be
captured and awed by the spectacle the Earth, our Mother has revealed.
Jane Rule’s words, "To live in a harmonious balance
of commitments and pleasures is what I strive for." are dangerous if
they are merely given an intellectual nod of approval, shunned to the side, and
covered with the dust of relentless activity. Alive, and given life by active
participation the joy of childhood returns which is exactly where the high
masters of Life urged us to return balanced by the maturity acquired while
living deeply into the splendor, the challenges and mysterious of Life, and the
subtle frankness one carries after making one's Death his/her ally!
I can think of a time Chandler and I were in the forest. We
came out of the thick greens of trees, and vegetations onto a small clearing of
tall grass and looking up one of us said, “Look.”
Above us. Way above us three or four Hawks were circling,
hunting, and surveying the landscapes below them. Suddenly one of them broke
free of the circle and dove straight for us. Chandler and I were spellbound. We
couldn’t move it was so powerful and beautiful the way the bird focused and
kept coming towards us. One of said, “This is awesome (or beautiful).”
“It is.”
“But if he hits us we will get killed.”
“It will probably hurt, but the beauty of it…”
“It’ll be worth it.” Somebody laughed, and just a hundred
yards or more above us the Hawk broke his dive and veered off and caught
another air current and traveled leisurely up to the circle of Hawks circling,
hunting and surveying the landscapes below them. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
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