editorial

“People Think It’s Weird...”

...to love the earth. They do, and I have unknowingly tested it.

On days when the weather speaks to my soul (yes, I know how “hippie” that sounds), I take a straw mat out to the driveway, lay it out, and lie there in the warm sun. Personally, I’d rather sweat bullets any day as opposed to the slightest chill.

As the sun refuels me for the day (body and mind), I enjoy the songbirds singing in the trees to each other across the yard and/or neighborhood. I am in awe of the wind, as I listen to it coming across the fence, rustling through the trees, across my skin and through the hair on my head (and sometimes legs, depending on the level of stress and lack of time haha) - (don’t judge. you ladies know how it is sometimes!).

As it moves beyond me and out of the moment, I remain in awe of how something so heard and felt could be unseen, unsmelt (is that a word?).

Sure, we can see the results of wind, when our trampoline winds up in the neighbor’s pool. And, sure, as I walk through the park on Ag Day’s Smokin’ Up the City Cookoff, the wind’s ability to carry the scent of smoked bologna into my nostrils, causing my taste buds to water, is undeniable. But it does, and I remain in awe.

So, with the birds singing, wind blowing, sun beaming, and the American Flag waving against its pole, I enjoy my time in corporate silence. No phones ringing, texts demanding, notifications beeping, or people talking...Just me and nature and whatever she/he/it brings along for the ride.

I love where I live within city limits, and there are always people working, walking, whistling around. More than a handful of times, I have had people either stop and ask if I’m ok, or the next time they see me out and about, they’ll tell me, “I circled back around to make sure the buzzards weren’t gonna getchya.”

It’s just awkward and unnatural to see people laying on the land. I’m afraid we’ve become so accustomed to using it that we forget it was created as ‘GOOD’ and for enjoyment purposes as well.

Enjoying the land is fun and easy to do when it’s in the form of a Natchez Trace waterfall hike, or vacation to the mountains or beach. But there’s just something about simply sitting with it sometimes. Just laying down together, me and the land, enjoying the creation moving all around me while healing, discovering visions in the clouds, contemplating ways to reuse/conserve resources, and sometimes just being there as if you would for a grieving friend who is now or has suffered a great loss. Loss of its property, resources, loss of appreciation, loss of respect for the work and dedication it takes to regenerate itsself simply to be consumed so quickly again by the ones who consistently, carelessly and selfishly use and abuse it.

One of the verses in the Word that resonates with me is, “BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.” I think it’s because when I do force myself to slow down (which is hard to do in a rat race), I feel it to be true and good and genuine. - Go, Be Weird -