I ask myself, why do I feel so tormented with deer who do what deer do: a flower recently planted lies smashed out of its pot—limp on the ground, the tops of the magenta beauties stand stripped and bereft of color.
As I stop and breathe, feel the turmoil of wanting to welcome and wanting to be left alone, I witness the paradox of inviting in all of nature and then wanting to control who arrives. I ponder life’s abundance; I understand that all the colors I want, and need, are always before me.
I enjoyed magenta beauty as I walked past in the day, aware of her within my display, in the large red pot. A deer enjoyed magenta beauty as she walked past one evening and became one with the excitement of her desire. Now, which of us lives in bliss, I wonder.
“Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.”
-Thomas Gray
“Just think of any negativity that comes at you as a raindrop falling into the ocean of your bliss.”
-Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.”
Last evening as I sat in my rocking chair near the window to the river, I opened myself to a review of the week. What had I done? What had I seen? What had I felt? Images of joy in young faces, scents of life opening, sounds of water, the taste of sweetness on the tongue, the inner knowing that I have witnessed beauty in each day moved through me. As I paused in my reflection and gazed out the window, there before me was a mamma deer suckling her fawn. In that poetic moment, I realized that all the feelings, images, scents and sounds and tastes were reflected here.
I don’t know what the moment was when we felt that we became a deer preserve and maybe it is just for this summer. For the 25 years we have lived here we have seen deer, but I have also felt frustration and adversarial feelings toward them as they have treated my yard and gardens as their daily salad bar with ever increasing bravery and audacity like eating my coleus at the front door when we were away for a week.
This year we are traveling more frequently, and I made the decision to not plant any annuals, no hanging baskets, no potted plants. I would rely only on the perennials and natures green. Not protecting has been a joy. Allowing grazing has been a gift of wonder. To see the once spotted fawn now a mother of twins. To welcome the stranger rather than worry about what they are taking. To rejoice in what they bring and ponder their needs.
For while this home has been on this land for close to 35 years, the paths created along the river, from the protected ravine to our house and the river, from the river up the hill to our land, have been traveled for generations allowing the bear, the woodchuck, racoon, fox, and deer a road to trek. There is a sense of freedom I feel in allowing and not claiming. To sit in silence and watch, witness, observe life’s poetry before me. To welcome its teachings. To dig deep into the heart of wonder.
You are joy and peace
all wonder is found in you
Eat now from life's feasts!
“The object of the artist and spiritual life is to dig for the submerged sunrise of wonder.”
G. K. Chesterton
“Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry move through and be silent.”
Rumi
Ongoing Resource List: Reading the the Mind and the Heart
The Gene Keys: Emracing Your Higher Purpose by Riuchard Rudd
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Inform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Energy Speaks: Messages from Spirit on Living, Loving, and Awakening by Lee Harris
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create an New One by Dr. Joe Dispenza
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme
The Mastery of Love, Don Miguel Ruiz
Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, by Mirabai Starr
The Four Agreements: A Toltec Book of Wisdom by Don Miguel Ruiz
Mindfulness and Grief by Heather Stang
How We Live Is How We Die by Pema Chödron
The Bhagavad Gita, Translated by Eknath Easwaran
St Francis of Assisi: Brother of Creation by Mirabai Starr
Wild Wisdom Edited by Neil Douglas-Klotz
Earth Prayers From Around The World, Ed by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon
The Tao of Relationships by Ray Grigg
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue
Unconditional Love and Forgiveness by Edith R. Stauffer, Ph.D.
Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III
Art & Fear by David Bayless & Ted Orland
Quantum-Touch by Richard Gordon
The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Persons Path Through Depression by Eric Maisel, PhD
The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living by Janis Amatuzio
Personal Power Through Awareness by Sanaya Roman
Violence & Compassion by His Holiness the Dahlai Lama
Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
Devotions by Mary Oliver
To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue
Meditations From the Mat by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison
The House of Belonging: poems by David Whyte
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
Soul an Archaeology Edited by Phil Cousineau
A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
Listening Point by Sigurd Olson
I Sit Listening to the Wind by Judith Duerk
Dancing Moons by Nancy Wood
The Soul of Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks
Keep Going by Joseph M. Marshall III
Arriving at your own Door by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
The Hidden Secrets of Water by Paolo Consigli
Conquest of Mind by Eknath Easwaran
Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brene Brown
Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Unattended Sorrow by Stephen Levine
Joy in Loving, Mother Theresa
The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Let Your LIfe Speak by Parker Palmer
Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Essence of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chodron
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson
