A Field Report

I’m out on the limb of a large oak tree. Down on the ground, is a large red barn that houses all the farm equipment to make things happen on this piece of land.

In another direction, is a farmhouse where I live these days. Assorted dogs and cats accompany me in whatever chores I’m engaged in.

Yet today I’m on this limb. I’m wondering how far out I can go before I need to pay extra attention to my mortality. Is it one or two more steps, or am I good for a longer distance.

The sky is blue, the sun is shining. Storm clouds gather in the distance. The land needs rain and has called up the moisture. I will have to deal with getting back to the trunk and down to the ground, before the storm clouds burst overhead.

I know that sometimes I can direct the show, like remaining in the tree on this limb for weeks at a time. I also know that something larger than me, some days, calls the shots and I have to accommodate that, like getting down before the cloudburst.

But for right now at least, I can dangle my legs over the side of this branch, nuzzle the still-green oak leaves alongside me, and breathe deeply of where I am at with my life.

Sooner rather than later, I will make a move. But right now, I just breathe.

Jyoti