A Midsummer Evening's Rambling

June 21st - Summer Solstice

Today is it. The longest day of the year. It is a time of light and of fire, a time to reflect upon the growth of the season: the seeds that were planted in the earth and the seeds planted in our souls. It is a time of cleansing and renewal and a time of love and growth as well.

In a word, magical.

I want to stay up to watch the last seconds of the day.
I want to bask in the sunset.
I want to dance with the druids.
Join in the worship of pagan Gods and Goddesses.
Sing praises to mother Earth.
Run barefoot on the green green grass, amidst the fluttering butterflies and chirping birds.

But I'm here in my room, typing this entry at the windowsill.

I can hear my friends' laughter

I can hear my neighbour calling his dog

I feel the cool breeze against my bare arms

And my heart just wants to burst in joy because I'm here, right now, enjoying all these.

I'm thankful I'm here.



Look at the intricacy of a spider's web. Doesn't it just amaze you? It's strong, and yet so delicate... and isn't it humbling to know that our very existance here is sometimes even more fragile than it is?

I'm humbled when I look around me.

Honoured, too, that the God that created all these beautiful things is the same God that created me.

Ashamed that I don't always stop to bask in the beauty that surrounds me. Ashamed that I forget how blessed I am to have all my senses intact.

What would it be like to be blind - and never see nature?
To to be deaf - and never hear the ringing laughter of children or the birds, singing?
Or to be lame - and to never walk on the soft grass nor run with the butterflies?

But you know whats even sadder?

To have sight, and yet be blind to nature
To be able to hear, and not listen
Or worse, to have a heart, and not learn to love.

Today I take time off to soak in my surroundings.
Today I say a silent prayer of thanks to God almighty.
Today I'll observe, I'll listen, I'll touch and feel...
And be at one with nature.

Today I'll see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven, in a wildflower. I'll hold infinity in the palm of my hands, and eternity, in an hour.

Amen.