Birdwatching Meditation

We're meditating on birds.

Standing in a forest on a path.

Opening our senses to the sounds around us.

The air on our skin.

The fresh morning light streaming through the dappled trees.

Feet planted firmly on the ground.

Letting go of the names of the species around us.

We're opening to the landscape of sound.

Dropping the boundaries between organisms.

Between our body,

The trees,

Their leaves,

The butterflies,

The birds.

Welcoming the sounds of the sense of the energy.

Letting go of the temptation to name.

And sitting in presence with the sounds.

With the sights.

A bird hopping on a branch in front.

Chasing an insect or inspecting a hole.

Can we gaze at this animal?

Letting the boundaries between us fall apart.

Fall away.

And feel ourselves on the branch.

Chasing an insect or inspecting a hole.

Letting our eyes or our inner mind's eyes scan gently.

Gazing with the world around us.

The soil beneath our feet grounding.

Noticing the temptation to name.

To claim.

And simply being in this landscape of sound.

Letting go of the sounds of the birds.