A thought….

I will continue the update of my la-la-land of feathered creatures shortly, but I am in philosophical mood so I thought I’d share a thought with you.

I believe we are all born with a vibration inside us, a longing, a wildness. To achieve inner peace & true contentment we search for things that resonate with us. Some of us try to resonate with artificial stimulants e.g. wealth, material possessions, power, gambling, drink, drugs, pornography. We find they excite our inner wildness maybe. But they do not bring peace.

I believe that in order to find our Zen, that perfect balance of resonance, we need to connect to the natural world around us. To look at a sunset with fresh eyes. To wander barefoot & truly feel the heartbeat of Mother Earth beneath our toes. To take in the majesty of wild creatures around us. To appreciate the fragile beauty of rose petals or a butterfly’s wings

Only when we open our eyes again, childlike, do we find that the resonance we need is all around us. Waiting, forever there should we just reach out & touch it.

Be it the wildness of stormy waves crashing against a pebble beach, the haunting cry of an eagle soaring high on mystic thermals, the bright treasure of the colours in a rainbow or the serene peace of a deserted walk across untouched wilderness. Whatever your inner wild, there is a place for you that you can call home. You just need to take that walk with Mother Earth.

Bright blessings to you in harmony with all that is,

Sara xx

INSPIRATION

Weaver of Grass whose blog I enjoy immensely suggested an 'Inspiration' themed Wednesday blog day for her 'followers' & I have thought long & hard about what or who is my greatest inspiration. Readers of my blog will know that I am animal mad, I always have been for as long as I can remember. So I tried to think what inspired this love of creatures & Nature.

My first pet was a budgie that I named Rupert, but I was only a small girl & I don't remember that much about him, except that I taught him to say 'pretty boy' & that when he died I was given another budgie that I named Rupert II! One was bright green & one was bright blue but I don't remember which was which. My dear Nan had a cat Dinky who I loved to pieces. She was a tortoiseshell cat & I used to sit still for ages so that she could enjoy my lap. She smelled a little & dribbled when you fussed her, but I did love her so. Finally, after lots of pleading I remember, we got a cat of our own, & then followed a procession of cats through the years. When I left home I surrounded myself with as many pets as I could get away with! Some of my first pets arrived quite by accident, homeless or unwanted creatures who I didn't have the heart to turn away. My first dog was one such unwanted soul & I discovered that oh so special dog / owner bond that I can't ever imagine being without now. Our move into the countryside 6 years ago was just an open invitation for me to fill our new home with a greater variety of creatures!

I have always enjoyed animal programmes on telly, from Blue Peter's pets, to the wonderful Animal Magic with Johnny Morris, to the various epic David Attenborough documentaries. But I can't say that these have been my inspiration.

Mum will say that I have always had a 'way' with animals. I don't know what people mean exactly when they say that, but I guess it means you have a certain empathy with animals & they are maybe more drawn to you than other people. So following this thought trail I hit the nail on the head. I know what my inspiration is! I know it's going to sound a little crazy perhaps! But my inspiration isn't a person, an object or a piece of writing. It is a feeling! It is the feeling I have always felt when surrounded by Nature. From living in London when I was young & enjoying trips to the local park to feed the ducks, to yearning to live in the countryside as I got older. It's all to do with a feeling. An inspirational, tangible feeling. It's calming, yet heart pounding. Mellowing, yet intoxicating. It's like a narcotic. I can breathe it in & it courses through my veins. It's there in my heart when I watch my hens free ranging in the field, or see my little mallard ducklings grow day-by-day, or stroke my dogs as they cuddle up to me. It's there in a rainbow, in a breathtaking country view, in a butterfly's dance or the sound of geese overhead. It moves me to the core. I hope that I will never, ever lose sight of my inspiration or forget to take pleasure in the simple beauty in the Natural World around me.