PAY ATTENTION

peace place

Pay ATTENTION!
How many times did you hear that as a kid?

Did you know that in many Native American cultures the Hawk is considered to be a messenger from the grandmother world. I learned this many years ago and often the primary message from the hawk is quite simple PAY ATTENTION.

For me this has taken on a meaning like MINDFULNESS. Occasionally, I have been warned of impending danger by the appearance of a flying hawk. Simply because I see the Hawk, I assume a more watchful demeanor. This has been very valuable when driving on long trips.
It is almost as if the Hawk is giving a WAKE UP CALL that reminds me to be MINDFUL to PAY ATTENTION.

Maybe you saw or read the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Long ago it was considered subversive. Now it is considered wacky humor.
But DONT PANIC no matter what and keep your towel with you for your travels across the galaxy.

One section was really special for me. As the main characters tried to run across the barren plains to a great fortress, each time any one of them had a thought, a signpost popped up out of the ground and smacked them in the face. It was the barren plains of NO THINKING ALLOWED. The antithesis of PAY ATTENTION.

I have often thought of this image. It was hilarious then. It made me remember all sorts of times when my ideas were slammed down or shut out of a discussion. Those silly signs made THINKING an undesirable activity. BUT to reach their goal the main characters HAD to think somehow.

It is almost a Buddhist koan to think without thinking. Or how ideas form without thought.

So when I fell flat on my face the other day, I decided it was as if the Universe was saying PAY ATTENTION.
To what? Obviously to the hole in the ground that caused the fall. But what else?

I literally crashed face first. One hand landed in gravel and the other on grass. My chin BOUNCED. Ouch.

So I am lying on the ground assessing the damage to my body and I think PAY ATTENTION. DON'T Panic. I have no towel but my trusty bandana is handy in my pocket,

I think that is close enough.

What could the message possibly be? Hours later. It comes to me that I FELL again and it hurts. So I want to avoid that. What lesson might I learn from this falling incident.

My hands were really hurting. My attention is on my hands. Are they behaving properly?
Am I leaning on them? Am I using them well? AH. Follow that thought.

HOW AM I USING MY HANDS?
Think about it. Where your heart is, there also lies your treasure... or some such...

Who am I serving with my hands?
Am I using them to their best potential?
What might I do differently?

AH. My hands crashed into the ground. Real attention getter.

Touch the earth. YES. This resonates well with me. I almost imagine hawks keening above me in circles.

YES. I need to get back to the LAND. RETURN to the LAND and do more with it.
And that fuels my spirit in ways nothing else can.

Hand labor. Hand weeding. Digging. Mowing. Planting. All of the farm tasks that demand attention.

I listen. I hear the call to spend more time at the FARM and DO things with my hands and the earth. TOUCH EARTH and touch spirit.

In my mind, I hear the song, touch the earth with gentleness, touch the earth with love, touch her with your future by the way you live today.
God has given us the power to create the world anew, so let us touch the earth together, me and you.

Yes. Pay attention. Touch my heart. Touch Earth.

How about you?

Are your hands serving your life spirit with congruence?