Friday Ramble - Focus

A year or three ago, I would not have been standing in the soggy hedgerow or out in the street at sunrise to look at leaves after rain. I did this morning, marveling at their colors, at the shape and luster of the beads of wetness along their verges and veins, at the knowledge that in each and every raindrop there are atomies beyond my ken and focus, whole tiny dancing worlds in each roundness.

Not so long ago, I wouldn't have been outside at twilight to watch geese flying down to the river either, their strong dark shapes silhouetted against skies of rose and gold, the tall stalwart forms of spruces and pines and backlighted wispy clouds.

Whatever else is going on in my life (and there is a fair bit at the moment), I am thankful for eyes with which to see the leaf, for ears with which to hear the songs of the geese as they fly, for a freckled nose with which to breathe in this spicy autumn fragrance in the hedgerow. I am thankful too for the doddering wits which allow me to "see" in a way which goes beyond the senses, to fathom on some inexpressible level just how astonishing this world is and how many wonders there are all around me, if I can just focus.