Sit Still

I live in a small house on the side of a mountain on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is perhaps the most unique place I've ever lived. Nothing about my surroundings fits what you usually associate with Hawaii. Take in the rolling hills, the flock of goats and two sheep, munching on the greenest of grass. Feel the cooler temperatures and an afternoon foggy mist that rolls through and blankets everything with softness. Is this Hawaii or the Palouse? If not for the ocean views or, on a clear day, the peak of Haleakalā in the distance, you may not know. I have a sit spot right next to my work desk where I'm growing herbs and my beloved mamaki plants. A red cardinal likes to visit in the morning and I've taken up the hobby of trying to catch this fast-moving red marvel on camera. The trees sway from the consistent winds, other birds sing and chatter, spiders build webs on the outside wood rafters and my fig tree has two growing figs on it. The lavender plants that I have resurrected are finally flowering and I am at rest.

My day job is a tedious one, so I tend to have something playing to keep the creative circuits in my brain from drooling with boredom. But every once in a while, I turn off the podcasts, the music, the videos and take in the gift of sounds that can't be replaced by digital inputs. I need to make this my default.

It is a gift to be able to sit still and listen to the Earth and its natural passengers communicating. It is a treasure to watch the greenery moving with the breeze. It is a privilege to feel the grass under my feet. It is the heritage and inheritance of mortal humans. We must not replace this trove of goodness with the artificial light and noise of the wayward. No online platform will ever or can ever replace the music of natural life. Please find a place, a piece of it, if you can. Even if it's only for a few moments. You are not doing nothing when you stop and sit, when you listen and laugh, when you cry and contemplate. You are escaping from the vacuous nothingness of modern mayhem and you are living in aliveness and stillness. Golden and pure, it is what we were made to do.