The other day I was sitting right here at the computer when out of the corner of my eye I saw a red flash of movement. My mind immediately said, FOX! The next thought was DUCKS! My camera was sitting next to me so I grabbed it as I dashed out the door! I took this photo when friend Fox was about a 100 yards from the duck pond. My Quorum of Quack was happily drifting about in their pond not suspecting a thing. When Fox detected my presence it paused a moment, looked at me with what felt like disappointment, melted into the woods.
The girls got put to bed early that afternoon. The event had a feeling of synchronicity. Many nights I have forgotten to put the ducks in, if I hadn't seen Fox out of the corner of my eye....
Lately, with the college choice angst around here, there has been advice, "Big Risk = Big Rewards!" One hears that a lot in the human culture. But observing Fox, and nature in general, that does not seem to be the case. Fox was bold but, Fox was cautious. I really had no way of protecting my ducks beyond waving my arms and shooing. But Fox paused in a moment of discernment and took the safe path. Though, I am sure Fox was hungry and Duck a l' Pond Water was a huge temptation~~~Better to Live another Day.
The human race would do well, in my humble opinion, to show more caution in our choices. Think a bit, have an alertness around our choices. Remember that we ARE a part of the natural world. There is such a culture of risk in our human world. I looked up RISK in the thesaurus and this is what I find...
| Synonyms | accident, contingency, danger, exposedness, exposure, flyer, fortuity, fortune, gamble,hazard, header, jeopardy, liability, liableness, luck, opportunity, peril, plunge,possibility, prospect, shot in the dark, speculation, stab*, uncertainty, venture, wager |
| Antonyms: | certainty, safety, sureness, surety |
| Very Charged Words! We humans need to make some important choices if we are to keep this planet up and running to our liking. I am a big believer that every action, every choice we make does matter. Well, our son is not going to his "dream" college. But a fairly safe choice money wise and location wise. I feel very connected to the idea of discernment. That is how I try to live my life. Here is a Mary Oliver poem that gives some suggestions. | |
When I Am Among the Trees
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."
~ Mary Oliver ~
(Thirst)
Turtle Watch Continues......
