Day Three: Prioritizing with the Birds

A driving wind today brought in fresh, crisp air. Birdsong abounded. Probably only four or five different species sang, but to my untrained ear it sounded like twenty, as each individual seemed to be singing a unique song.

Upon reaching the base of the tree, noticed a mat of broad, whitish maple leaves from last fall. Wondered how long it will be before I will be capable of identifying a type of tree by eyeing the previous year's fallen leaves. (I decided this year to hold off on starting Kamana 2 until my children are a little older, so I can commit more seriously to it when I do start.) I also noted a sign from my heavy-footed descent last night; my foot had slid in the mud lying under the pine needles, leaving an obvious boot track at the base of my "secret" spot during my poorly executed retreat from the tree. Rushing does not privacy ensure, that's my lesson for yesterday.

Once settled in the tree this evening, I noted that my interest lay primarily in what I could hear and feel, rather than in what I could see. It seems to me that my sit in the dark last night helped to lessen my need to see everything around me. Hearing the birds, my hens in the yard, my environs was enough.

During my nightly meditation on what my senses are picking up, I became aware of my gut. It's come to my attention during two of my three sits so far, and each time it has struck me as being so unneccesary. I am quite fond of my body, as I view it as a great gift in which I get to live this life, and do not tend to fret a little extra flab here or there. But during the brief time that I'm sitting outside each day, the lines between the things that I need and the things that I don't need seem much more straightforward. I discover a deep drive to bring myself into balance with how nature intends my body to live. I stay up too late on a regular basis, and since my daughter's birth four months ago, I have taken to turning to sweet foods when my energy flags during the day in a desperate effort to keep up with my two young children. Hence my gut. My time outside seems to be helping the pieces of my life fall into place. Getting enough sleep feels far more important to me now than just as a means of having energy during the day. I find a deeper calling to make those decisions that will allow my life to work properly, and to identify and let go of those things that drag me down.