Just witness

An aside, from what might become its own blog, one of these days: Backyard Zen.

I'm fortunate to have a lot of living friends, here in the garden...all sorts of plants and many kinds of animals. But what's amazing is that they're all very much unique individuals.

Honeybees who wander the flowers in the geranium plant they're currently exploring. Every one of them is very interested in something, but they look for it differently. Similarly, yes, but at the end of it all, differently.

We have quite a few of various kinds of birds. They behave similarly, but each of them is different. They squabble and chase each other, and they have similar kinds calls and the like, but certain among them clearly have feelings for each other, including one pair who nuzzle each other with their beaks. But they're all unique.

Saw some squirrels nibbling on something. They are also clearly unique.

Humans came wandering by one day. They're also clearly unique, each of them, but somehow, enough the same, and sometimes with clear feelings for their other human friends that they were journeying with.

Life is life. Life is amazing. Life is... everything.

And so what do we do, with all of these things in the backyard?

Witness. Just witness. Don't judge, don't adopt problems that don't belong to you, don't go into "well, I would have done this differently" or other critiquing modes, don't over-analyze things whether you know about them or not, like trying to peg whatever-it-is with some sort of taxonomy, just witness.

Me in the backyard, I take time to look, breathe, and listen. And the most amazing things may happen...

And you don't need a backyard. Nature helps, nature really helps, but there's life all around us.

Just witness.