This Wild and Precious Life

A little essay written one April morning; on noticing, appreciating, and making space for awe.

The painting pictured here was inspired by this familiar walk, and is available here.

"In June" - 16x20

I went for a walk with the babe through our neighborhood this morning, as we've done so very many times. It was earlier than our usual today and the air was damp and the human world was still mostly asleep. But outside. Outside was alive.

Seven scraggly deer losing their winter costs wandered past us and into someone's yard. Dozens of quail awkwardly bobbed around. Doves whoo whooed continuously. Robins singing their morning song when we started out slowly gave way to the white throated sparrows.

We got to our pond (it's ours because we've been here together often enough) and the acoustics were unbelievable. Yellow rumped warblers flitted about catching insects over the water. And to our surprise a pair of wood ducks was gliding along among the mallards.

I said hello to my fellow mothers: a goose sat dutifully on her nest while the female red wing black birds collected nesting materials and alarm called furiously at my approach.

I looked up as I passed beneath the freshly leafed tree where I captured this reference photo last year, and said thank you.

More than once, I caught myself thinking, "this is the most meaningful thing I have ever done". As if all the other meaningful moments in my life had evaporated and there was just this. And in some way that is true. And I know, this is exactly what Mary Oliver was talking about when she wrote, "what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Painting in progress...