Next Generation Nature

From a young age birds provided me with a window into the natural world. It is no surprise then, that when I decided to travel for an entire year I looked to them to inspire my decision and consequently ended up doing a big year. As a child I saw a Northern Cardinal and stood in awe of its beauty but even back then I saw something more. I saw the definition of freedom. Here was a thing that could fly right over the fence into old man Pete’s yard without fear. If only I could teach it to retrieve that ball!

As an adult the stunning beauty of a Northern Cardinal still gives ample reason for pause but I find that birds have also opened a window into my heart If only I take the time to stop and peer through it.

“a Northern Cardinal still gives ample reason for pause”

In July 2011 I was parked in an out of the way corner of Kaibab National Forest. I was tired and aching from my travels as I sat down on the sandy earth, closed my eyes and drifted away. Where I came in contact with the ground it felt as if deep roots were tying me to the earth, it was as if my very own heart was beating in rhythm with Mother Nature’s. My mind went quiet, my worries dissolved into the forest and I sat for a very long time. I had meditated before but it never felt like this. Humbled by my journey and by the earth I sat upon I embraced my existence. For the first time I simply let go, I abandon logic and reason and allowed myself to have a spiritual experience without questioning any of it. I heard the beautiful song of a bird cascading down upon me from the trees. I had never heard this song before but in my heart I already knew the one who made it. I heard tiny wings as they stirred the dead still air just above my head. Again the song came and I began to return to consciousness. Tiny wings fluttered once more and my eyes opened. There I sat, nose to beak with a Grace’s Warbler. The bird I had come up here to find had found me. My eyes didn’t seek field marks nor did my mind start calculating check marks and lists. I simply saw the bird and he saw me. In that moment we were brothers, both seekers of truth. He taught me how to see again with the eyes of a child and I trusted his wisdom.