Community

There is more. More than we see, more than we think we know. More to learn. And the natural world can teach us.

Stop to listen to bird song, watch wren or robin or dunnock going about their daily business. See gull and tern soar in the sky, graceful and expert in their wheels and turns.

Be curious about bee, fly and wasp. Listen for rustlings in the undergrowth and try to guess who might be moving carefully there.

Wonder at the colour of fresh spring leaves, yew bark, butterflies and flowers. Marvel at the perfect concentric circles of a pine cone.

Pick up stones, hold them, feel their texture. Push your fingers into soft spongy damp moss. Get muddy knees exploring tiny burrows and wondering who lives there.

Be curious, be playful, be childlike in your explorations.

Be part of the community around you. Be respectful. Welcome them all with open arms and hopeful they will accept and welcome you.

Acknowledge every being you see. Or at least as many as you can. Reach out and touch a tree as you pass it, feel its texture. Stop to help a caterpillar out of harms way. Behold the ceaseless industry of an ant colony.

Notice, connect, be moved. And you will feel yourself changing, softening. Moulding into a new shape. One that fits. Into nature, into community, into the world around you.

Tread slowly, lightly, observantly.

And. Don’t go back to sleep.