HEARTS

As I was returning from my late morning walk with Bindi, heading west, the morning sun at my back I happened to look down. There, scattered on the dirt, road I live on was a variety of leaf stems that had fallen from the canopy of hardwoods above. It just so happens that the arc of the stems that were haphazardly strewn about the road, were casting a mirror image shadow type thing that created a HEART. Some were laying on the ground flat, some were humped up, creating this shadow effect. Hearts were all over the ground in front of me. As I trudged up the hill I began to see Heart images everywhere in nature. I could see the "v" of the bottom of a heart in the tree branches, imagining the rest of the heart above, I could just "see" it. I could see curvilinear lines creating the "top" of the heart and in my mind's eye, completed the bottom. Tire treads in the dirt road created what looked like the "cleft" of a Heart. The leaves of the Cottonwoods, Poplars, Aspens and Birches have incredibly Heart shaped leaves. The breast of the Robin in the Buckthorns looked like part of a Heart. Hearts were popping up all over.

Hearts have traditionally represented Love. I began to muse about my love of nature, of the Goddess in all her wonder. Lucky for me on this late morning it was perfect weather, sunny, warm, a breeze on my face (who can go wrong in that?) making me even more thankful to Mother Earth. I sent silent blessings from MY Heart to Gaia for all of this beauty and for all She does to take care of us, feed us, nurture us, support us.

We must remember to return the love, to be thankful, to do our best to give offerings back to the Earth. We must conserve out natural resources, live a little closer to the earth, and wake up and remember that She is a living, breathing entity. She is us, and we are Her. We come from Her, and return to to Her.

All it takes is a moment of conscious gratitude. A prayer or meditation, an offering. A song sung to the Earth, or a drum beat of vibrational energy returned. Caring for and feeding the creatures, tending the plants and trees. Respecting the cycles, and acknowleding the beauty in nature; in the Goddess.

Make a rock garden, plant a tree, feed a chipmunk. Look for the Hearts that are everywhere around you and let inspire you to Love the Earth, and realize that you are not Apart from this, but are Part of this.