We took a little different tack this week. To give us some direction we listened to a segment from CBC’s “The Current” about birdwatching! Now you might not imagine how we could then spend an hour in a useful conversation about birding, but we did.
The science writer whose life experience led him to take up the new interest in birding spoke of the radical change, of finding what makes him whole –an experience of joy and wonder. His pandemic time of greater isolation, of anxiety over friends and family’s difficulties with mental health, his own feelings of angst and emptiness completely, radically changed with the discovery of birding. He recognized in himself what he called “a search for meaning in the midst of the chaos.”
We found ourselves reminded of conversations we’ve had before. The importance of nature in a complete life. The sacredness of creation and our responsibility to protect and defend the world around us. We spoke of our tendency to be overwhelmed by the world’s problems and the futility of “fixing” everything that needs attention. We acknowledge that our time cannot stay with need and brokenness but must be balanced with intentional seeking experiences of joy and wonder.
Birding is one possibility, but not the only one. We talked about our experience with gardening, or insects, or bees or fish or frogs or rocks. Taking time to be in the natural world is essential to living a whole life. Walking or sitting out side with eyes open to the expansive life that comes with truly experiencing nature.
There you have it. Not everything we talked about, but a taste of how we spend our Tuesday mornings.
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