Stain-glass Eyes

My sweet, kind, portable bicycle. White with baby blue lettering. A water bottle holder and three gears. It begs for some air in the back tire before we take off. Wants to show me the trail and make me exercise all in one. I agree to the adventure, but wear my cushioned bike shorts, just in case. I Love the Coasting! I’m glad to have water. “Why won’t you go into first gear?” I ask (a bit irritated) It stays stubborn until I coax it gently and consistently. Monarch butterflies fly by and with me. Green grasshoppers hop on the trail   as it dips and winds beside a mature forest. A doe with her twin fawn shows herself. Cautious. But her golden-orange coat gives her hiding spot away. The two wait for her to cross the road. They think they’re hidden. I wait, but their patience is much more instinctive than mine. Later a rabbit thinks it’s invisible, too. But, it’s in plain sight. Looking like a part of the short grass only not ...

“When it comes to understanding others,  we rarely tax our imaginations.”  Lawrence Hill “What religion do you practice?” a woman asked another. “I practice kindness,” was the reply. I am afraid after thousands of years in the development of religions, they’ve become complex social systems, not just belief systems.   Instead of going to visit the elders to learn right from wrong, modern society has schools, nurseries and communities constructed on various religions.   I wish it could be easier and more simplistic to talk about belief.   Not just one pre-designed for us, but one we have consciously designed to fit how we want to live our life and how we think we should treat others. Labels are more harmful than helpful.   I sometimes think they’re supposed to make things work more smoothly, but when I watch what they do in social groups I see them closing minds rather than opening them.   (Mine included) Being raised Cat...