[blockquote source=”Thomas Merton”]”When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash – at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the “newness,” the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.”[/blockquote]

Why are we so afraid of our connection with other humans?

As I sit here sipping tea, I watch a steady stream of passerbys…with noses pinched to glowing light…

While others simply avert their eyes.

American Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön, once said that the root of our suffering is born in our ignorance of the truth of our own limitlessness.

Truth be told, as I sit here this morning – I wonder if the whole of their universe might fit upon the head of a pin?

And, just what are you doing here? Much as I love to have you always near, there’s a whole wonderful world waiting for you out there (she said, pointing enthusiastically).

Open your eyes,what do you see?

“There are things you can’t reach. But

You can reach out to them, and all day long.

The wind, the bird flying away. The idea of god.

And it can keep you busy as anything else, and happier.

I look; morning to night I am never done with looking.”  ― Mary Oliver

Breathe…observe…be captivated…and feel…my dears, this world is waiting for your ‘feathered touch’

Can you hear it calling you? Whispered rustlings amongst the trees, and begging simply for the chance to be heard.

My dears, when was the last time you walked barefoot along a wooded trail…felt the earth’s chill beneath your feet, and let the mud squish between your toes?

Or, felt the roughened bark of a sugar maple tree as you read from your favorite book?

Or, watched the sunrise burst into millions of shimmers against the stillness of a woodland pond?

And, have you ever felt a ladybug tickle your hand? I have…in fact, they’re quite welcome there.

My dears, this world is waiting right here just for you. Can you just imagine the gifts it wishes to share?

So dream big, go discover and explore ~ I mean, just how do you expect to ever really set sail while still hugging the comforts of your own ‘shore?’

A little something to think about this morning – the life of your dreams, is the one that you choose.