Going on sunrise, we go out for morning chores. After I give the goats their grain and fill the hay feeder, there's a bit of a lull while I wait for them to finish eating. I pass the time by listening to the news.
I'm not talking about listening to a favorite AM or FM radio station. I'm talking about nature's news. I step outside the barn and concentrate on what I can hear. I carefully focus first on the sounds around me.
Bird news is always first. Lots of personals because spring is mating season: robins and cardinals have the most boisterous song. A mockingbird is singing its heart out in the overhead crepe myrtle, and I hear the mournful call of a male morning dove, trying to attract a mate. In the distance I hear nuthatches conversing. Mr. Rooster crows his two-cents before clucking to his ladies that he found another tasty tidbit for them. A distant neighbor's rooster responds, announcing that his flock's day has begun.
Suddenly, crows. Not one, but many, creating a ruckus with their cawing. That can mean only one thing; I scan the skies with my eyes, and sure enough. Half-a-dozen crows are chasing a hawk. The hawk screams in response, but the chickens seem to know they're safe and ignore him.
Rustling in the leaves means either a towhee or a squirrel on the ground. I look, and hear a squirrel scolding from the safety of a tree branch. What is it scolding? Ah, Meowy in stealth mode. She's fast and the smart squirrels know it. They tease the other cats, but when they see Meowy all but the unfortunate most daring of them know better than to tease. She's made a meal out of more than one squirrel.
Weather news is next. I listen for current wind conditions while I observe the sunrise. I can hear a light wind in the trees and observe how quickly the clouds are moving and which direction. I observe the color of the sunrise. In my experience, "red sky in morning, sailors take warning" hasn't proven strictly true, but it gives a heads-up on potential conditions, including humidity.
Lastly, is human news. It's a weekday; I know by the distant sound of work and school traffic. On weekends it's quiet. It's only early spring, so the hours and hours (and hours and hours) of leaf blower noise is thankfully past. And it's too early for lawnmowers (around here people start mowing at 6 or 7 a.m. to beat the heat.)
I hear the back screen door bang. There's a pause, then hear it again. Dan's still busy with the chickens, so that can only mean that Katy wants back in the house. I have bells hanging from the door handle, but she refuses to use them and insists on popping the screen door to get our attention. No matter, it's time to finish up with the goats and go inside where the breakfast dishes await.
I try to remember to get news updates throughout the day. Not so much for the phenological information (although I like the sense of being in touch with nature's happenings around me), but because I have discovered something else about this exercise - it resets my frame of mind.
It's all too easy to become fixated on our thoughts. These can be positive and constructive, or they can be negative and stressful. Have you ever noticed how a thought can trigger an emotional response? Or how an emotion can trigger habitual lines of thinking? Identifying this pattern was a first step, and with that, I had to admit to myself that I don't like being at the mercy of my thoughts and emotions. Figuring out what sets it in motion helped me realize that I have choices, and that these choices begin with the thoughts I entertain.
For the past couple of years, we've seen an increasing global obsession with fear and anger. A word, a name, a glance, an assumption, all these and more can pull us into the thought-emotion cycle. At its mildest, this cycle is a time waster. It adds noting constructive to our day. At its worst, it's destructive in two ways. One, it's destructive to others by the actions we take in word, deed, or the attitude we impose upon them. Two, because these emotions release the addictive hormones that set off an inflammatory cascade, which is damaging to our health and immune system.
So, what's the answer? I acknowledge that some people seem to enjoy being scared or angry. Fear seems to be a popular form of entertainment (think of the popularity of horror films) and anger gives one a sense of power. Both can be used to manipulate others. If they develop into depression, pharmaceuticals are a popular solution. For myself, one of the reasons I chose this lifestyle is because I don't see anything appealing about living like that.
The words of Paul of Tarsus often come to mind (paraphrased): that everything we need to know to have peace of heart is revealed through nature. So, while humanity is in a uproar over who's king of the hill, the natural creation is going on about its own business, doing what it was created to do. I want to be the same.
Unfortunately, reigning in one's thoughts and emotions isn't a one-time task. Negative thoughts and temptations to fear and anger come at us throughout the day, like fiery darts. The choice is to either yield to them or reject them. Listening to nature's news is one of the ways I exercise control and maintain my peace of mind.
