OuterBliss: Namaste to My Mother Earth

There are days when I think, why, oh, why even try? It's hard. We are already too far gone. Not enough people are contributing to the solutions...

(This would be the alter ego known as WhineChick.)

Then I walk outside and walk around this house.

I notice that there are tiny little buds on our hardy Kiwi plants. I notice that purple and green asparagus are poking up out of the soil and that one warm day is probably all it will take to give us enough for an appetizer (broiled with olive oil is truly the only way to eat fresh asparagus).

I notice, too, that we have a lot of birds in this small yard and our share of rabbits. (We love rabbits in this house, as you may know.)

I notice that our four year old apple tree is doing well, and I imagine that this year we will get more than just one piece of fruit.

I notice that my heart feels calmer, more at peace; I notice that my heart swells with love for this tiny piece of land that is ours, that we continue to tenderly cultivate, that we plant our dreams within.

I cry easily at the thought of ever leaving it and so we most likely never will.

Sitting in the back yard, I can sense that big Lake, that beautiful Lake that is only 2 miles North of me. I look above and see gulls. The sound of gulls -- how would I ever live without it?

Being outside, sitting outside, weeding, staring, dreaming...I know exactly why we live like we do and I know for certain that there is nothing more worthwhile than living in a way that fosters a deeper relationship between me and this planet I call home.

I know that there is nothing more worthwhile than living in a way that shows my utter respect for this Earth that is my Mother.

I bow down to her and to all the life she supports every time...

...I walk or ride my bike.

...every Spring that we decide one more year without a car. (We'll be up to 8 this July.)

...every time I buy local and organic produce or organic and local meats.

...every time I learn one more bird's real name, one more tree's real name, one more iota of anything about this specific place.

...every day during the summer when I clip or cut or pull our dinner from our own ground.

...every visit to a store when I decide: No, I do not need this.

...and every minute when I walk upon her and notice her and not just use her.

Not just one day a year.

Namaste to, as Hildegarde would say, all this Verdant Greening.

May we all try to be more deserving of this gift.

For more information regarding our car-free lifestyle, please click on the Go Green! button in the right-hand column.

Bliss: All of it.

(Photo Credit: Christine Reed, Pink Impression Tulip, Front Yart, 2009)