How odd to wake Sunday morning and hear Red-winged Blackbirds singing to define their territories. There are so many different strategies by which the natural world finds balance. Migration allows these flashy creatures, like so many, to keep up with sun and the plants and animals—food—that capture and store the sun’s energy.
Back in Vermont I know I’ll slow down, dig in, fatten up a bit and, while not truly hibernating, I’ll hunker down for another month or two. Like the bears and skunks, most of the plants and many of the insects.
The Osprey is either in balance with the environment or dead. How can I pretend for long that I am any different?
In yoga I am reminded of how balance is so much about being present, trusting, getting out of my own way and doing nothing. Listening to the birds’ song, feeling warmth of the sun, I ask myself “how have we grown so far out of balance?”
Still Learning To See 
And for me the answer is “yes”. Humans seem to be the ONLY “out of balance” creatures on the planet. I once pondered that every other being KNOWS its place–the great blue whale swims daily, the dance of life and death continues, the yin and yang of life. But we are the creatures who are filled with a yearning to know why we are here. Stephen Jay Gould once said something to the effect that we are the universe AWARE of itself–that our job is to PAY ATTENTION and get all the wonder down in art, music, photography, literature, dance, learning. I think we are out of balance because too many of us pay attention to the wrong things–and I thank you for this blog which focuses on our role as observers of awe.