November 13, 2018
“There once was a Zen monk being pursued by a ferocious tiger. He raced to the edge of the cliff, looked back and saw the tiger about to spring. He saw a rope hanging over the edge of the cliff. He grabbed it and began to shimmy down out of the clutches of the tiger. Whew! He checked below and saw a quarry of huge, jagged rocks. He looked above and the tiger was poised atop with bared claws. Just then, two mice began to nibble at the rope. What to do? He saw a strawberry within arms reach growing out of the face of the cliff. He plucked it, ate it, and said, “Yum – yum, that’s the best strawberry I’ve tasted in my whole life!” If he had been preoccupied with the rocks below, the future, or with the tiger above, the past, he could have missed the strawberry God was giving him in the present moment.”
***
I like to walk in the morning before the day gets away from me… I may not be running from a tiger or facing a cliff at the end of a trail, but I am often running from my thoughts and standing on the precipice of forgiveness…
…and so I walk in the morning before the day is taken over by the hustle and bustle of daily activities… as I work to keep the list of the day’s projects from flooding my mind… I want to take in my surroundings and listen to my environment as I enjoy a few moments of solitude and communing with nature. I want to be present in the moment.
Some days I enjoy the solitude of walking in the rain… all of the senses are cleansed as the air fills with the fragrance of nature’s bath. Some days the warmth of the sun beckons me forward. Whether walking in a steady rain or absorbing the warmth of the shining sun, the feeling is somewhat the same… the sheer joy of just being in nature and just allowing the present moment to envelope the soul and feeling the touch of Spirit in all experiences. Recently, as I walked my usual route, I was struck by the beauty of the day… the trees looked extra green against the deep blue sky that held no clouds that day. There were busy squirrels high atop the evergreens gnawing at the pine cones and dropping them to the ground where they scurried to carry them to a winter storage spot. And… the birds… the clarity of the individual songs of the birds called me to attention as they harmonized in symphonic sound and the breeze lifted their voices above the trees. At these moments it is easy to feel surrounded by God’s loving countenance…
Often, this loving countenance floods into my heart and strings of words flow in a rhythmic beat of poetry and song. Poetry seems to bring a meaning and emotion to the thoughts that tumble through my mind. I feel the interconnectedness with God that compels me to share these poetic pieces through children’s literature. Consequently, in communicating these concepts to children, I have found that poetry is very effective.
Poetry is a wonderful comfort as the rhythm and rhyme helps develop a love of language and reading. It creates an emotional affect that stirs imagination and brings meaning and sound and rhythm to language and literature. The repetition of sounds or patterns can create a musical effect and the use of figurative language can create a visual effect which places the reader in their own story and allows them to be present in the moment…
…and so I keep walking and wondering and observing and listening… and poetic thoughts move before me as I commune with nature… finding comfort in the present moment… and that is good for the soul…
