Meditation for the summer solstice

The 21st of June is the summer solstice, meaning a time when the 'sun stands still'.  The lighter evenings provide a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature. 

Usually in our garden there is a clearly defined 'day shift' (the birds) and 'night shift' (hedgehogs and bats). With the lighter nights however we had the comical situation where a hedgehog was eating sunflower seeds dropped by the birds at the base of the feeder and a pigeon staring at it with its head on one side as if to say 'what is that?'.  The hedgehog is tiny - I can only think that the hedgehog we fed last year and gave shelter to over the winter has had a baby.  This is wonderful news - hedgehogs are in decline and it would be awful to lose our 'Mrs Tiggywinkles'.  In the garden also the bird 'dads' seem to have taken over the 'childcare' presumably because the females are having another brood. They do such a good job - you see the blackbirds teaching their young to catch worms and sparrow 'dads' being driven crazy by several babies all doing the 'feed me dance' where they stretch their wingss out and shake.  Wildlife makes you laugh, but it also makes you cry. Recently we discovered a baby blackbird on the path late at night - she barely looked old enough to be out of the nest.  We made her a makeshift 'nest' out of a cardboard box, some fluff that we put out for the birds in spring and left her a crumbled fat ball to eat and some water.  We called her Midnight. Next morning when I went to check on her she opened her mouth wide for food. The local vet advised to move her to where there were other birds but she ran off.  Several times over the next couple of days I saw her under the hedge and left food and water for her but after three days we found her dead under her favourite section of the hedge. Obviously something had happened to the parent birds - I suspect the local cat had something to do with it.  

Now more than ever we need to connect with nature.  We are custodians of our earth but we are changing the face of the planet in a detrimental way.  The time to act is now - we need to recognise that all beings are connected and act in a way that benefits all.  Global warming is the big problem this planet faces.  The earth is self-regulating if left to its own devices but we are pouring more carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere than the trees and plants of the earth can use.  The result is the sun's rays are being 'trapped' in the atmosphere and the planet heats up causing droughts and floods, melting polar ice caps and consequent rise in sea levels.  We can all do a little to help.  Please see 'Earth Day 2o15, Wednesday 22nd April'. This is a good reason also to turn to renewables rather than inviting fracking in.  

Try the following meditation  - connecting to the earth will give you a greater sense of wellbeing.

Connect to the earth by standing in bare feet on grass in your garden or in a park.  Notice all the greenery around you and reflect on the connection between animals and plant life. When you exhale carbondioxide, the plants take it up and when plants give out oxygen you breathe it in.  Notice the birds and the birdsong and reflect then on how all animals are connected by the breath. The more we connect with the earth, the more we will love her. The more we love her, the more we will want to protect her.  Stay here as long as you wish feeling the grass between your toes.  


You may also like 'Light meditation for the Summer Solstice' on my YouTube Channel.

If you are enjoying my blogs please consider making a small donation but please do not feel this is a condition of enjoying the blogs. Please see- 
http://40plusandalliswell.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html