Just Because

I’ve been practicing different visualizations lately to deal with anxiety. My thoughts can end up going in so many directions. Which makes me doubly anxious. It's a vicious circle. I landed on something today that was a bit of a breakthrough.

I close my eyes and imagine a clock that is winding down. My thoughts are winding down with the clock. All the manic thoughts are systematically disappearing with the slow tick-tock. Slower and slower, until it stops. I breath fully throughout the entire exercise - which is important. When the clocks stops, I am clear. I can now hear only what's there, the whirling of the ceiling fan, the kitchen clock, and my steady breathing.

Then I notice a little bird outside my window .He is singing brightly. Just because he can. That bird knows. He knows that humans are complicated and we don’t need to be. He's dialed in to the ebb and flow of creation. All that little bird must do is sing, making grateful music to the One who breathed life into its little lungs. And to the complicated humans that fret and fumble along.

‘Imagine’ he ponders, ‘underneath all their cares are the sounds of nature that beckon them to slow down. So many of them miss what's all around them’. This is God’s design. Earth laid out at our feet. To simply breathe in beauty and breathe out gratitude. Maybe even hum a tune, like the little bird does. Just because he can.