Liberating Contemplative Play

As the springtime warms up Seattle, ever more invitations to the outdoors have awaited my daughter. Her mother now also gets to appreciate the chances to explore, play, contemplate, and enjoy being outside and connected with the natural world. A gift of these times arises in a liberation to simply BE in existence and relationship with our humble, ordinary surroundings. With intoxicating intimacy to the front yard bushes, I clasp her to my breast as she explores the tactile sensations and floral aromas of the leaves and flowers within her reach. Or, we sit together by the simple metal fence and appreciate the tiny rosemary and sage plants just planted by her grandmother. I pet the grass  and watch her small nimble fingers retrieve pieces of foliage from the ground cover. The sparseness of grass in the wilderness of diverse, well-trimmed weeds delights me and I revel in the lazy refusal of monoculture the surface of our yard expresses. I gaze into outer space intermittently sharing her inner space. These delicate moments would be impossible for me without motherhood.