SUNSET COVE

Written 9/1/09

The calm is what strikes me after sitting here for a minute.  The only disruption is the constant noise from a cricket hiding somewhere to my right and the occasional squawking from a gull on the beach below this grassy knoll.  The water is calm except for the gentle current of the Agawam River as it meets the Bay.   The beach is free of waves as the tide slowly recedes.  Several gulls are combing the sands for a snack, only to cry with disappointment at their fruitless search.  The sky is clear with elongated light gray clouds that lay low above the trees across the cove.  A big black crow caws in the tree next to me and dog barks in answer from the confines of his house.  A gentle breeze stirs the small American flag secured to a boat moored in front of me.  I notice small channels of shallow water in the sand, left there by the shrinking tide.  So much activity, yet total peace pervades.  Familiar sounds lend ambience; sounds I often miss or dismiss in my busyness. A young boy on the beach contributes to the scene; first banging a rock on a concrete drain pipe peaking out from the sand, then in boredom; throwing the rock into the water.  A few brave gulls now stand in the water – so still – like hesitant waders, treading slowly into the cold.

My lunch time is over now but I’ll bring the peace of this time back to work with me for a good measure of serenity to the rest of my day.

ONE WITH NATURE

Written 8/7/09

I am surrounded by astounding natural beauty as I sit on my deck.  Tall trees, mostly pine and oak, rise untamed from the conservation land behind my cedar fence.  The leaves barely move now but earlier they spoke with the rustle of the sea wind.  They sounded like the woods of Maine, even though they’re planted in Cape soil and sand. The sky above is so crisp it could be sliced cleanly by a sky writer. Void of clouds, planes or any intrusion, it is uniform in color, almost a luminescent blue.  The birds must be readying for rest.  They’ve taken to the trees where only an energetic few still chirp.  The hummingbird couple retired after a ten minute visit to my red bee balm plants and yellow honeysuckle vine.  The colors of my flowers need no artist.  They are creations of nature.  The breeze picks up for a moment and another hummingbird flits by. 

 In allowing myself to really see what is before me, not only are my eyes open but my mind is too.  So much pours in now.  Gratitude for this feast before me, fills my senses and brings me peace, for it is here that I feel both the stillness and movement of nature and come to understand that this is how nature is.  Just as the hummingbirds come and go, as the leaves rustle then stop, as the birds are silent, then sing, I too am changing.  In quiet, sound is born.  In stillness, action begins.  In my sadness at not being in love, the energy of one to come begins.  In my times of loneliness, a connection stirs.  Since I too am part of nature, my movement is the same.  What is not here now will soon appear, just as what is here now, may depart.  With this understanding comes acceptance of the flow of the natural world we are one with and I find faith; faith that if I’m in tune with the ways of nature and remain aware of its energy and movement, all that is not well will soon be and what has left, will again return.  Maybe different but it will be new, recreated or reformed. But it will appear, if I keep my eyes, my heart, my mind and ears open.  For if I don’t, it may pass me by and I’ll never even know that I had the chance to see, to love, to grab hold off.  I’ve learned in this writing, that each change in nature is a reminder for me to watch, pay attention and keep faith that the winds of change are in constant motion, that it is how the cycles go and I will flow with it as it flows through me.