A wave of summer storms passed through last night and this morning, leaving us saturated in many of our fields. The wet fields will likely slow us as we attempt to catch up on our plantings this week. We are almost a month behind with some crops. As I drive to work, I also notice that the other farmers are behind just as much. Corn fields that should be almost as tall as me are barely four inches tall, and some fields, like the one across the street from us, remain unplanted as July approaches rapidly. It is truly a challenging season.
Yet, in spite of the challenges, we are hopeful. This morning, after the storms passed, I heard a robin and a mourning dove singing to the world a song of hope. The bees will continue their summer symbiotic dance with the flowers, each holding a promise of life for us all. The sun still rose this morning, and life abounds, even if the folly of humans is challenged. When the clouds finally clear, the stars will shine like pearls in the night sky, reminding me that I am small, and so are my worries.
I can spend my time seeing my challenges and lament all that does not work as I plan, or I can see the hope in the dawn of each new day. I can choose to appreciate the gift of today, which is all that I have been guaranteed, and embrace all that today holds in store. I will celebrate others in my life today. My time with them is never guaranteed, and I will treasure those moments that I have.Today, I will also eat food that was grown on the soil that I live. It will sustain me for another day, reminding me that I am not separate of the earth, but in a very real way, I am part of the soil that I walk upon.
I will walk in the wet fields, and feel the mud on my feet. Without the water from the sky, I would not be alive. Without the rain, the sunshine would be relentless and unbearable. I have learned that rain brings life to the earth beneath my feet, but the separation of that earth beneath me and myself is an illusion. I am in whole, a part of the earth that walk upon. I am alive and a manifestation of the life around me. I exist symbiotically with all that exists around me. The rain feeds me as it sustains life around me. It is true, that the rain has harassed my plans for the field this season, but it is also true that my plans do not matter. It is a delusion to think that they do. Instead, what is happening is precisely what is supposed to happen, and it is in that knowledge that I know that I am right where I need to be today.