Attending earth

lawn care, daily walks, and finding my way back to me

The Japanese rose bush down my street, pictured above, is one of the many things bringing me back down to earth. Every morning I take my neighborhood walk — at least one a day, that’s what I’m committed to. It’s grounding to my nervous system to begin each day in the fresh dewy morning air while listening to birdsong, gesturing to my body a signal of safety.

In the afternoon, I’ll occasionally take a second walk. Still, the air smells sweet. I walk to the pond and watch the turtles lay their eggs in the sand. I listen to the rushing water of the small waterfall. I cross the wooden bridge and smell the sweet perfume of the Japanese honeysuckle. I see a log and think it’s a human and scare myself in the way dogs or babies get scared of their own shadows.

My daily strolls remind me of… well, me. Pearls of wisdom gently remembered throughout my day, a daily scavenger hunt. Everything is a cycle of arriving and forgetting and arriving and forgetting and arriving and forgetting until arriving actually becomes remembering.

All I do is remember. On Sunday, I mowed my lawn for the first time this season (with the new lawn mower gifted by neighbor Clint!) and didn’t have a single thought the entire time other than thoughts about what was happening in my body in real time. I’m sweaty, my lips are chapped, I love walks, I love seeing the yard in its entirety. Presence.

What a gift it is to be so embodied, to not remember whatever the fuck spiral thought loop I entertain myself with at any given moment and instead be only consumed by chapped lips and tree branches in my mower’s path.

These days, I am finding my right size. Maybe my right size is a flashlight illuminating microscopic soul-heart-body portals. Except no, no — my size is much bigger than a mere shadow or light refraction. I am figuring it all out in perfect timing. With lawn care and spacious daily walks, the pearls of wisdom come quickly. I am doing my best to keep up.

Thank you for reading Sacred Attention — I am forever grateful.

xo,
Christie