This evening I went for a walk in the cemetery near my house. The weather was warm and breezy. The smell and feel of spring was in the air. Spring as in people have a little bounce in their step. I felt it too. Tired from a days work the air was calling for me to be outside. As I entered the cemetery with a friend I notice both my sense of agenda and exploration. We walked on the grass and the sidewalk noticing the differences. The sidewalk felt strong, flat, secure. The ground felt soft, squishy, uneven and more interesting moving with my body. That's when I noticed my friend stopping to place flowers in the crevice of a tree. I waited patiently thinking about getting on with our walk. As she continued to commune with the tree I noticed from afar the river like lines in the bark of the tree and it reminded me of the stripes on a zebra. I moved to notice more around me. I found small, thin, delicate pieces of tree bark, which I then collected. As I started placing them in a pattern on the ground I noticed that in order to do this I needed to kneel on the ground bringing me that much closer to the earth. The earth was cool, moist and fresh smelling. For a moment I was reminded why I'm doing this. Kneeling there on the ground I let go and connected to this something larger that is all around me and right under my feet if I only take the time to notice. Thank you earth for being so alive and inspiring in this glorious springtime! I had renewed joy playing and discovering today!
~Karina
~Karina