I’m not sure how long things have gotten real as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic. I’m not really keeping track except I do know it’s been about a week since we’ve been on a pretty serious lockdown.

It’s Sunday. I found out Friday night at 10:30pm, as I was going to bed via an email from the vet, that my dog has a potentially cancerous tumor. I can’t bring myself to claim that she has “C”. It’s a waiting game until we can contact the surgeon on Monday and hope we can get in as soon as possible. I was feeling overwhelmed to say the least and wasn’t sure what I needed to help me cope but I knew nature would help and so would a little exercise. I drove over to this trail near the house that lines the lake and it was the best thing I could have done for myself.

It was raining. Of course. Well it had reduced to a light mist. So better than raining I suppose. I parked the car and and was standing at the street’s edge waiting to cross the street and a car drove by, through the water, and a wave washed over me. It didn’t even cross my mind that that was even a possibility. I looked down sort of stunned and just took my now soaked self with a grain of salt. I crossed the street and started down the wrong path. It was paved and lined the back of a subdivision and the path was full of garbage. It didn’t look right so I turned back to try and get my bearings. But then I noticed this tree. It was just budding with life and raindrops were hanging in careful suspension from the branches and I thought it was so beautiful I stopped to take a photo with my phone. It was at that moment I realized, while not my intended path, it was not garbage after all. Among the trash there was beauty and it was at that point my senses turned on and I came into the now. I was totally aware and present and alive with my surroundings.

I could smell the spring and I felt as though I could see every new sprout of life on every branch. I could hear every bird and see nature totally and completely alive. It seemed nothing escaped my senses. I snapped some pictures with my phone of beautiful bits of nature and stood for a moment and recorded 1 minute of the sounds around me. I tried to capture a piece of what I was experiencing. I didn’t want it all for myself. I wanted to share it. I felt like the earth was talking to me. Responding to me. I created a little earth art, leaving the word, “Love” a couple of times for others to find and for the earth to feel as a token of gratitude from my heart to hers. At the end of my walk I spotted a tall white bird. An Egret I think. It was far away and it looked as it if could be 5 feet tall. I took a small video and then turned off my phone and then it took flight like a small dragon. It felt like a parting gift. A special goodbye just for me. It happened just as the dirt trail became pavement and I could almost see my car.

I left feeling healed. I left with the inspiration and idea for this website which I started around noon today. It’s now 8pm and I’m finished for now with the exception of writing this post. It’s been 10 years since I wrote a blog post or shared a part of me and my experiences online. Going to stay positive and carry on and love as deeply as I can.