The Sense of Sight

Having worn glasses most of my life I have always thought that I understood the importance of sight.  Earlier in my life I worked with a program for the blind - reading the newspaper and books onto tape, etc.  The value of my sight has always been a BIG thing in my life.  

But then there is the other side of 'sight'  -- the use of what you actually have, to SEE everything around you.  How often have I gotten involved in the task of the day or a problem I was trying to solve and all these sights are passing in front of my eyes but I'm not really seeing them.  I'm more interested in the destination than in the view along the way.

I am thankful for my physical sight and just as I have to use glasses everyday -- perhaps I need to pay more attention to what is around me.  Using my sight to see the tiniest bud bloom or the bird far up in the tree, or the face in front of me without distraction -- now that is a real sense of sight.

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." - Helen Keller

The Sense of Sound

I tend to seek out quiet, silent places these days.  Soft conversations with friends, music in my studio background, and the natural sounds that accompany me while walking up and down the hill each day.

Sound can be beautiful.   The sound of music, the sound of your child's first spoken words, the whispers when awed by something wonderful.

Sadly we have created a very NOISY (I'm yelling that you see) world.  People shout, they don't talk.  Strident voices report the hellish news each day.  Horns honk, radios blare.  There are motors and engines and loud noises everywhere.

We have all these holidays each year celebrating this person or that person- which in turn creates more noise because there are 'special' sales on that day or noisy fireworks or parades.  I wish we could have one day - 24 hours  - of silence.  It would never be fully silent for nature makes its own sounds.  From the bird call to the rustling under the leaves. Perhaps we could even hear the tinkle of a small stream.

But the stars would come out in silence, the sun would rise in silence and our lives could be pursued with only the natural noises that speak to the essence of our life. 

"Soon silence will have passed into legend.  Man has turned his back on silence.  Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation." - Jean Arp

The Sense of Smell

Every time I open a drawer in my bedroom there is that slight scent that takes me outdoors on a sunny day walking through fields of lavender.

In mid-afternoon I stop everything, if I can, and take up a small square of dark chocolate.  I break it in four pieces letting the scent speak for the taste I'm soon going to have.

How many beautiful scents can you think of?  Some of mine are new moan grass, herbal teas (any kind *smile*), sun warmed pine needles on the ground, anything sweet baking in the oven.

Sometimes a memory from the past comes flooding into my mind with just the slightest scent that represents that time.  

"Nothing is more memorable than a smell.  One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains." - Diane Ackerman

Sixth Month Meditation

During this beautiful time of the year I find myself combining my meditation with my daily walk(s).  This month I think about the five senses: sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste.  When I get to the top of the hill, I stand very still and explore myself and my world through my senses.
  

Of course the sight part is easy, but looking up into these trees, identifying singular leaves, fully seeing the tree both in parts and as its whole that fills my spirit.

The scents in the woods are transitory.  This past few weeks it has been honeysuckle - filling the air with its beautiful scent. Now the sweet spire is in bloom and to savor its delicate scent I have to pause for a moment. 

I touch a leaf, or cradle a delicate bloom in my hand.

                                                                         Photo by Tom Baugh

I listen carefully to the birds but I also strain to hear all those insects living on and beneath the forest plants.  I know they are there and I know they must be making the teeniest,  tiniest sounds.

Lastly, taste, and this happens when I get home and settle down with a cup of tea, thinking about what lives all around me each and every day.  Savoring the spirits of my senses.

"All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason.  There is nothing higher than reason." - Immanuel Kant