NOW

I heard the clock chime 11 times and that was fifteen minutes ago. I am a little late getting started this Morning. I had a busy Morning. Well, for me anyway. I, always, do the crossword puzzle when I first get up, then I contemplate doing the chores. I had to remind myself how beautiful the new snow was as it poured out of the sky. There were beautiful, huge flakes floating down in a windless sky. It was unusual to have a dry snow that formed flakes so large; generally the flakes stick together because of their moisture content, this snow was quite dry. It was below zero F when I went to bed, but the temperature rose during the night and was a few degrees above when I got up. The house felt cold though, so I decided to put a fire in the living room room stove, rather than wait for our furnace [geo-thermal system] to catch up.

I use a toboggan [one of those black plastic composition things] to carry my seven gallon water container out to the sheep and chickens. When I pull it along on a trodden path, it goes so fast, I have to be careful, it doesn't go faster than me, and crack into my heels; that hurts. This happens from time to time, especially now that I am getting long of tooth, and am not terribly nimble.

Today, I didn't have to worry about that. New snow, especially dry snow, is difficult to pull through. I don't have to do the chickens everyday. I have their water in a rubber tub. I think it is rated at five gallons but it actually holds close to seven gallons. In the Winter I add warm water and empty it only when it gets dirty. After a few days of breaking ice and adding water, I have a seven gallon ice cube and I have to haul it out and slam it on the ground to get the ice out. That was the situation this Morning, after several nights of below zero temperatures.

Besides my regular chores, I had to get some wood from the wood pile. I pull my toboggan to the wood pile and start loading; today, I caught myself, doing one of my little tricks. When I am done pulling the toboggan to its destination, I toss the rope in the toboggan. Several times I have filled up the toboggan with wood, only to discover, I buried my tow rope. It is not much fun pulling it out from under the wood. Today I spotted it after I threw only a few chunks; it is going to be a good day!

Yes, it was beautiful when I first looked out the window. However, part of my mind saw how beautiful it was, even to the point of thinking I had better get some pictures, but another part of me, became preoccupied with the necessity of going out and dealing with the cold and snow. And it turned out to be a great experience! It was a very pleasant interlude in this man's life.

How often do we do that; miss the present beauty, because we are concerned with a future, we haven't experienced yet? I learn that lesson over and over again. Will I ever be able to stay in the moment? Yes, I think I will. Love is here. Peace is here. Joy is here. Ahhhhhh................. let us be Now.

Love and Peace, Gregg