When I am willing to be very still
I hear my heart beat in my ears
The wind gently pushes against my eardrums
And the chickadee, audacious and clear,
Sings a silk thread of whistle in the low breeze hum
Barely, the rain taps at the surfaces that surround me
Then, a gentle brush of wind
Mostly in the tree tops
Moves across the globe
Directing the clouds where they will go
The water turns from clear blue
To reflective silver gray
Strong enough to support loon and leech
I sit clean now, washed in sand and lake
And rest my hand on his.
A bond, making memories
To tell the children some day
“When I was an old woman, I paddled a canoe.”
Janet Elizabeth Hartwick Sterk
June 2020
Rick Monteith
Lovely
HealingJourneys
Thank you Rick. Happy Retirement.
Debra Palmquist
The water turns from clear blue
To reflective silver gray
Strong enough to support loon and leech
I sit clean now, washed in sand and lake
Love these images and the “turning from blue to silver”as we all do when we age. So beautiful Janet! You are so right these moments happen when we are willing to be still.
HealingJourneys
Thank you Deb. We both know what that is like to be still and notice. Thinking of you in your journey…..
Cynthia Melvin
Your post fills me with longing for the lakes in Minnesota, and the stillness and movement of the water. I have a river nearby where I live in Colorado, and a creek to visit with my dogs. The air is dry and hot. The ground is decomposing granite. It’s my home now, but it’s not in my blood as is Minnesota.
HealingJourneys
Thank you Cynthia. Everyplace has its beauty, but Minnesota, particularly northern Minnesota has an energy that gets in your blood! Just like you said. Sometimes, just meditating on the sensory memories of being in the Minnesota north woods, can bring me back. Thank you for your response. Colorado is beautiful too, but oh, the water here is like gold. I hope we humans can help keep it clean and available.