feather in the breeze

A few moments ago, I was walking along, my mind full of thoughts about something or other, when my attention was caught by a feather. It was in the air, falling to the ground. But falling is not the right word: it was dancing in the breeze, twisting, turning, down and up, this way and that.

And this beautiful white feather stopped me in my tracks. My thoughts stopped. And for a whole minute or so, I was absorbed in its dance. There was a lightness in it, not just the physical lightness that allowed it to stay aloft, but a freedom, even though it was at the mercy of the breeze. It felt like it was living its own dance, unique, unhurried, free. And so, for a delicious minute or so, I too was in that space, with a silent mind, feeling the lightness of being of that feather, the freedom in its movement was also my freedom. Its unique dance was also in me.

And so I give thanks, thanks for that feather, for bringing me back to myself, for sharing the deliciousness of its dance with me. Ahh, contentment, happiness, joy. It's so simple. And it's only our complicated minds that stop us from living in that joy.

So let's learn from this feather: learn to have a lightness in our being, and to live life as a simple, playful, unique dance.