Berries and More

The mulberries on the mulberry trees are dwindling now... fewer and fewer berries each day.  But what a feast it has been for the past month and a half!  I've never seen so many mulberries... and the birds love them so... as do some of the dogs!  They actually 'graze' around the base of the trees and happily munch fallen berries.  Such economy in nature.  And I notice that the birds always leave a few within easy reach every day, so I can enjoy them too. 

Blackberries have been in full swing for a couple of weeks now.  I've made endless pies and crisps for family and friends.  And my ever-bearing strawberries are now yielding again.  Such abundance!  There are always a few blackberries with holes in them from bird beaks... I leave those for the birds to finish.  And I always leave the low-hanging ones for smaller creatures.  In the strawberry patch, turtles and mice feast along with a giant preying mantis who patrols the plants like a guardian angel, looking for smaller bugs to feast on.  The birds pretty much leave the strawberries alone, preferring the wild blackberries and mulberries that are everywhere.

Why all this berry talk?  Besides the fact that I have been picking berries everyday and have them on the brain?  Well, the berry patches and mulberry trees here in Sanctuary provide a huge lesson in how the world really works.  Wall Street may think world markets thrive on competition and self-centeredness... but I can see that this is a distortion of how the world works, based on the belief that there is a limited supply, and that we have to take all we can before it's gone.  Like we view fossil fuels, or a real estate boom, or any other economic opportunity in our world... it's take, take, take... eat or be eaten.

Actually, there is a natural rhythm and sharing, if we step back and observe.  There is plenty for everybody, including the rodents and insect pests (the ones that make it past the preying mantis!).  I never spray, I never cover anything with nets, and there is always abundance and balance.  All my neighbors (the ones who protect their gardens and spray everything in sight for insects) have been complaining about grackles and Japanese beetles.  But though there may be a few here and there, they don't really diminish the abundance of berries (or any other vegetable).  Even my roses look good, in spite of the fact that Japanese beetles love to munch their blooms. 

Could it really be so simple?  Could it be that if we respect and embrace all of life, and go with the flow of life instead of battling it, that we are actually included in the abundance and sharing that goes on effortlessly?  Could it be that if we look with larger eyes, the eyes of the large Self that Deep Ecologist Arne Naess wrote about, then we come to know our Self as part of the whole?

According to Naess, every living being, whether human, animal, or vegetable (including fruits!) has a vital and equal need and right to live and grow and blossom.  And it is only when we yield to the flow of the large Self that we (and all of life) experience ourselves as a natural part of the whole, in a natural rhythm and harmony.

Life in Sanctuary is not just altruism.  It's by living in the flow and harmony of life that we return to sanity and oneness.  Loving the plants and animals and people, loving the changing and ever-flowing abundance and variety of life is as necessary and vital to our planetary well-being as economics.  Berries and more berries... that's the way of life well-lived. 

Slugs

I'm making my peace with slugs.  It has been a rainy few months, so they are pretty much everywhere, yard and garden.  They ooze their way around amazingly fast.  Isn't it funny how creatures that ooze aren't nearly as appealing as creatures with furry feet?  Or even birds, with their reptilian feet... at least they have cute feathery bodies.  But slugs?  Not much to appeal to human aesthetics.  Unless you're two years old.

My two year old grandson helped restore my sense of appreciation for slugs tonight.  We were outside watching all the toads come out for the evening, chasing some lightening bugs, and marveling at the clearness of the evening star.  Then he discovered a really, really big slug.  I'm a country girl, and I even like worms... but slugs make me want to go 'eeeeewww.'  Like the good grandma that I am, I got down and admired this giant bit of ooze, and before long I really was seeing it, for the first time.  Yes, it still oozes.  Yes, it still sucks holes in my hostas.  But it is alive.  Its antennae move and communicate as we get closer and talk to it.  There is awareness.

As an animal lover and caretaker of the Sanctuary here, I have enormous respect and love for animals great and small, wild or tame.  But I realized that the exclusion of love and respect for even one life form can lead us to be careless of Life, and set us on a downward spiral.  We can't say some parts of creation are perfect, and exclude the parts we think inconvenience us, or aren't pretty or comfortable enough.  If we except parts of Life, we can't see Life's wholeness, and we are no longer whole.

As I get older, I discover I'm returning to that childlike wonder and appreciation of ALL of it.  And I feel the wholeness of that, and revel in it.  I hope that each person who reads this will take some time to notice what aspects of life they have been rejecting, and start to notice whatever it is again with love and appreciation.  The joy this brings is indescribable.  Another precious day of Life in Sanctuary.   

Tadpoles

There are tadpoles in the horse water tank.  A few weeks ago, I noticed a big ol' frog sitting on the edge, and wondered what he/she was doing so far from the creek.  Now I know!  She found a source of abundant food and fresh water for her eggs to hatch in!  It's amazing watching what must be hundreds of the little guys feeding on invisible algae on the tank sides... and how they dive to the depths to avoid being suctioned into the horse's mouths when they drink.  Savvy little guys... changing every day... I find them a source of wonder and also of inspiration.

Tadpoles begin their lives as amoeba-like creatures, and gradually grow legs and lungs and the ability to live outside of water.  We are often inspired by the transformation of caterpillar to butterfly, but rarely do we think about how amazing a frog's journey is.  And when their physical transformation is complete, they effortlessly know to leave the water, to eat different food, to look for different environments.  If only change were that effortless for we humans!  Or is it?

As I watch the seasons and the rhythms here in Sanctuary I am soothed and comforted.  Even in the midst of seeming suffering and death, there is renewal.  Transformation and change are effortless and orderly, and no amount of human control issues has ever or will ever stop that.  The gift is becoming a part of the wonder of natural rhythms, discovering that they are our rhythms, too.  We are always growing new skin, replenishing cells, transforming.  We are always discovering new ways to experience love and joy in life.  Animals, reptiles, and all the natural world are always here to teach us and remind us.

If you have lost your sense of wonder at such things, spend some time with animals.  Donate your time and resources to animal rescue groups near you.  Take long walks and allow your natural rhythms to re-attune to Life.  Allow the effortless joy of Being.  That is what Life in Sanctuary celebrates.