To calibrate the spiritual meter inside, get up close and personal with the world outside. 

The spring sun gently permeates into the tissues and bones. Time to shrug off that blanket of winter malaise. It’s a reminder to wake from a hibernating slumber that has crept into the mind and spirit.

The invisible wind goes in and out of the giant garden chime, as thoughts go in and out of the mind. It’s important to choose the thoughts. The gentle breeze animates the metal chimes,and their dance creates positive vibrations to produce beautiful sounds. It’s akin to a spiritual alarm clock.

All around me, birds cheep and chirp, do we even notice what they’re saying to each other? The world around me twitters, and if I choose to look at it like the sounds of mere bird chatter, it simply ceases to matter.

A displaced bird’s nest rests on the ground. How did it get here? A close inspection reveals the dry Kentucky bluegrass sourced locally  from the yard. I feel the fine weave, and it’s hard to unravel. Did the bird merely go through this motion?

Surely there must be something more to it. Could it be a sort of an avian parental instinct? With its delicate beak, the parent bird has exercised so much care into creating a safe and strong home. The same beak finds the food, serves as a feeding tool, and even pecks out predators. A moment outdoors brings to realization that being human does not rest with humans alone. Nurturing: Birds do it, bees do it, even ordinary fleas do it…. We’re especially overrated.

A few moons ago, I stuck a small scented geranium cutting given by a friend into a pot. It has now grown tall and wide.

The fingerlike tips  of the leaves resemble upturned palms. Spring has treated it to a special manicure with mauve flowered tips. I caress the velvety leaves, and the plant reciprocates generously, releasing a rose-geranium fragrance that lingers on the skin long after. Very quickly I realize the extent of the role I played here; the blink-and-miss bit part. It only required occasional watering. I gave it a home without too much effort, but this life form seized an opportunity to thrive in the larger universe. Just like the plant and the friend who gave it to me, like the dirt, the warm sun, and the hydrating water, I have my place in the universe. We’re all in this together. It’s true that I had something to do here.Then again, there are times when the feeling of entitlement attacks the psyche in full force. It feels as if I alone am responsible for the beautiful plant. Fortunately, such timely reminders put me in my place.

There’s a reason we’re here. The bare cutting now flourishes. It perfumes the air, pleases the eye, and even puts out pretty flowers. Everyone has that ability; some choose to take advantage of it, while others do not. Thoughts flow in and out like the breeze between the tubes of the wind chime. Gratitude for the Highest Power blissfully washes over for placing me in the here and now of an interdependent web.