Under a tree

I bought a "zero gravity" lounge chair today. I seem to be spending more time horizontal than vertical some days, so thought it would be nice to be horizontal outside under the maple tree by the pond than inside on the couch. It is quite lovely. From this vantage point I can hear the birds and the leaf blowers and lawn mowers. Busy birds and people, doing their daily work, earning their daily bread. It is cool under the tree, nature's air conditioner, and I can still see the clouds passing by in front of the bright blue sky. I can talk to my friends on the phone and celebrate Kristi's happy news of an unexciting PET scan and no more chemo. I can knit my mindless knitting project for the window in our bedroom. I can sip a fruity drink and eat strawberries. I wonder why it has taken me so long to appreciate time spent in  "zero gravity". I used to wonder how some people could sit around and seemingly do nothing, when the world and the people in it needed so much help, not realizing that sometimes we need to be quiet and listen to it. We need to listen to our own heartbeat, our own breathing, know our own souls to ready ourselves to reach out to another. We can live out Ecclesiastes chapter 3, every day, under a tree, in perfect peace.