Come with me. Let’s walk into the garden. Not the creative man made garden, but into the garden of the wild. The garden as I created it millennia ago. Walk with me down this path that the deer have imprinted with countless footsteps.  You might spot their tracks or see where they have nibbled on a tender branch. You might see the sign of a bear but  leave behind all the pressure that you feel, the stresses of living in a world that doesn’t know how to turn inward towards me, a world that does not know that I am still with  you here in the garden, waiting to be noticed.

Sit here in this spot beneath the shade of the trees. Here you say, there is nothing here. Only bush. What is there to see? What is there to do?

Breathe in and breathe out.  Become calm within yourself. There are worlds here to see in this tiny space, worlds to explore. Look up – see how the branches extend ever upward seeking me? Look down and see all the different species that grow here side by side, independent yet also interdependent and dependent.  See that precious little fern nested there at your foot. How breathtakingly beautiful!  And beside that the tiniest of all blossoms- you do not have a name for it but I do. Every inch of this ground is covered with life- my life. I am intimate with all and filled with love for the existence of each one. See that little ant wending its way across the ground carrying a treasure back to its home? Underneath that home, life is as busy for these of my tiny creatures as it is in the bustling place you have left behind to come and meet me here an that spider over there creating a web of glistening beauty in the sun. They do not worry, they depend entirely on me. Feel the sun as it dapples down through the trees patterning itself in shadows of delight here where you sit.  Can you hear that? Tiny little birds, whispering their songs of joy, celebrating the gift of life, knowing that I care for each of them. They seek to share with each other and with you, the beauty of music. Do you hear the melody of the water trickling over the rocks below? So restful, so calming, ever in movement but ever at peace within itself pursuing the goal of rejoining its source.  Can you hear the whisper of the wind in the tops of the branches- the winds speaks –life lives wherever you are. Life is vibrant, full, expansive. The wind travels around the world but here it is talking to you, bearing a message for you. Taste the wild strawberries, large, luscious and juicy. O what a delicacy hidden here in the forest?  Everything seems hidden but when you look there it is right in plain view. Look out across the creek line and simply be here with me. Do you feel my presence here with you?  In my garden everything has a place, the flowers, the rocks, the trees, the water, the plants, the beetles and the bugs, the birds and you, you also have a place with me here.