This morning, I sat on the patio and thought about how all life on Earth follows the same path: birth, growth, flowering, seeding, decay, and death. This journey looks different for each form of life. Some are tiny, others as large as a forest. For some, the process takes centuries; for others, it happens in just minutes.

I reminded myself that humans are not the only life forms exempt from this path. We all follow the same journey as every other living thing. Even though we often see ourselves as separate or above the rest of nature, we are, at our core, just like all other life on Earth.

If we can truly see this simple truth, it might help us accept that we are just one part of the vast web of life. Life on Earth will probably continue long after the ‘Age of Man’ has passed. The real question is whether we can let go of our need for certainty and learn to live peacefully with the unknown.

Forgive me, for I am but a humble dreamer living among other dreamers in dreamland. The only distinction, perhaps, is my realization that all that is, is but a dream. Then again, this too is a dream. What to do but make a pitcher of iced tea, sit in the garden, and talk to the succulents.

Garden Notebook 12/4/14 ~
I was out in the garden early this evening talking to the roses. They were telling me how much they appreciated the shower yesterday. I looked upon beautiful Brandy and I do believe she was winking at me!

11/30/14
This morning there is a blessed light rain in the garden. I went out and swept around the drains in anticipation of the coming downpour. The mist on my face focused attention on the task and my hair is now pleasantly damp as I write. To find our work and ask for nothing more. This is the practice.

“There are 3 elements necessary in order for a rainbow to exist; rain, sunlight and the aperture through which the rainbow is viewed. We are the aperture through which the universe views rainbows! You see, that is why we are here. We are the apertures though which the universe is manifested. There could be no greater purpose than this!”   ~ Jeff’s Garden Notebook

I stitch together memories and regrets of the past and anticipation and anxiety about the future into an intricate thought tapestry that I call myself. Awakening is the simple realization that I am in reality just this moment and that there is no time but the present.