I don’t know why it takes an illness to make us stop and be present – or why it is that way for me. The cycle of life starts off with birth and ends with death. Every animal, plant, insect is born and eventually dies. It’s natural but it’s not something our society embraces. It’s something I have struggled with my whole life. We may first learn about death when a beloved pet dies. If a relative we don’t know well dies when we are young we don’t necessarily feel the sting of that person’s passing. Lucky people die naturally at their home. Others die due to illness at a nursing home or in a hospital. And others die tragic deaths due to accidents or violence, which is so sad.

Today I took a long walk. I stopped at the local pond and little waterfall and I was really present. I listened to the wind whipping my face. I felt that wind. I listened to the water falling and gurgling. It was meditative. It was comforting. It was renewing. It was natural.