A long moment in Nature’s peace amid this orchestrated madness

On By Alethea KehasIn Reflections
Even amid the most chaotic times, nature offers us peace and balance
The Buddha in the herb garden beside my front steps

Madness has taken over the country I call home, but there is peace to be found amid the chaos. Humans are not strangers to chaos because we are most often its creators. Nature inherently seeks balance, but human nature is its primary upsetter. How utterly ironic that our highly evolved brains push us towards disharmony all in the name of supremacy. This quest for supremacy churning out cycle after cycle of battles for dominion over ourselves, other species, and our planet, which is not just ours.

Yet, She endures.

In the soft hours of mourning I pause with her presence. The cat I am far too attached to takes advantage of the moment to cocoon herself between my thighs and belly as I watch a small orange slug, that is not really orange, but more the colors of an oak leaf transitioning from summer to fall. Its glistening body is horned like a young goat and in this pause I find its beauty. Curled into a half-heart around the edge of an oregano leaf in this garden of herbs and wild weeds that seek only coexistence, the slug defies gravity. Or seems to.

Beyond this small patch of earth that sits below my front step, the male cardinal that built a nest in the lilac sits on a branch of a maple singing his sermon of the day. How glorious he is to behold with his coat of red and his beard of black haloed in summer’s green. Yet I know he is more than that. I have held the fallen feather of his kin up to the sun and witnessed the full spectrum of light. But, he knows this too. Listen to him.

His mate is in the peach tree is gathering a meal. Equally lovely in her understated tawny hues she wears red on her beak, the crest of her head, and threads its hues through her tail and feathers as a reminder of balance. She is earth, fire, air, and always water. Water because it is a feminine element. And each of her feathers holds the same spectrum of light as his.

The cardinals are not the only birds singing to the mourning and gathering food. The phoebes who nest under the peaked roof of my unused front door are busy doing the same. Dedicated to the tasks of the day they provide a chorus with the finches, nuthatches, and chickadees. Circling the clouds, the resident falcons calls out for breakfast and I take in the scent of the ocean from the sea roses before I head inside for mine.

39 thoughts on “A long moment in Nature’s peace amid this orchestrated madness”

    1. Thank you for reading my post and responding to it, Annette. My cat has an uncanny practice of pulling me into the present moment when I need it the most, and I appreciate your appreciation of what I experienced. 💚

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  4. Sometimes we just need to bathe ourselves in nature… Side note – there are always cardinals nesting right behind our house, but I think there more than one pair this year – I have been seeing several at a time since May, male, female and lately immature ones. Nice to know they are all full spectrum…

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  9. I missed this post when I was sick. I love the way you have described nature. American birds have wonderful names. The phoebes sound interesting. I have never heard of them before. Cardinals sound magnificently impossible. I’ve only ever seen them in photos. They must look great when they fly against a clear blue sky.

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    1. Thank you, Suzanne. The phoebes are a friendly and rather fearless species. Very charming. The cardinals are almost otherworldly and quite magnificent in their plumage. I think that’s why they are often associated with visitation from those who have passed.

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      2. They always nest under our front door that we don’e use. They reuse their nests for years. One nest now looks like a high-rise since they kept adding moss to it, so they built a new nest beside it when it got too high. Soon we’ll have a village 🙂

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  10. A beautiful and calming reflection, and your descriptions capture how nature offers us sanctuary, balance, and gentle wisdom—even when the world feels overwhelming. Nature offers us so much if we pause and appreciate the harmony.

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  11. Thank you for this message of wisdom and healing from nature. I’m curious how one can be far too attached to a cat. I know cats and dogs have a short life span compared to humans and that can bring pain of goodbye but cannot imagine life without becoming attached to them. I suppose that might not go with the balance thing. Wishing you more moments of peace, Alethea.

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    1. I am glad you enjoyed the post, JoAnna. I think attachment can become somewhat unhealthy when you find yourself dependent upon another being or object for your happiness. Although I love all of my pets, I’m particularly attached to this cat. I think I know why, but it doesn’t help the matter. 🙂

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      1. True that attachment can be unhealthy at times. Sigh. I was realizing that (again) in a meditation earlier today. We don’t have to be so dependent on what another being does or says and can take a step back, one day at a time, one moment at a time. How easy it is for me to forget that. Best wishes, to both of us.

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