Date: September 28, 2019

Temperature: 81 F

It was raining earlier in the afternoon today. I thought visiting my ‘sit-spot’ would give me a different view as today’s weather was quite different from the last couple of times I was there. For the first fifteen
minutes, I did nothing but look at the nature around me. It felt relaxing, shutting my eyes and listening to the sound of nature. The tranquil environment was perfect to be mindful, and connect with nature. The warmth from the late afternoon sun along with the light breeze gave me a sense of comfort and nostalgia. It took me back to my memories from childhood when I used to sit at my garden with my grandmother.

As I closed my eyes, I could hear some new sound this time. I could hear the sound of two different birds chirping. It felt like the birds were singing to one another in that beautiful way they do. One sound was coming from the southeast side of my spot. The other one was more like treetop chirps from another kind of bird. When the two birds’ chirping mixed, it sounded like a chorus – rich as a symphony – welcoming the evening to come. This felt like a piece of pure music to my ears. In addition to the chirping, I could also hear a more familiar sound. It was the sound of a cricket. The sound was not as loud as it would have been later in the evening, yet it was easily distinguishable.

There were more leaves on the ground this time, they were mostly brown leaves. The leaves on the trees were still green but seemed less so than the last time I was at the spot. Towards the southeast side, there was a barren tree with a bike of European hornets hovering around it. Last time I was there, I could only see a couple of those around that tree. According to my research, I found that that hornets mostly wanders around bare trees with no greens in them. As I inspected the ground, I saw a lot of ants too. I don’t remember seeing them the last time I was here. Perhaps it was the rain. The ants were marching around the side of a stone. It was fun to watch them, and think about how they were living in a community of their own, and how maybe each one had their own roles.

The sky was mostly clear above, only a few patches of clouds here and there. This time the air smelt different too. The breeze was crisp with a bit of a muddy smell to it. The earthy smell carried mysteries around. My sit-spot had another visitor too. A girl was walking her dogs, and it felt good to see them enjoy the outdoors. The dogs were quite friendly. They came to me and waived their tails at me for a while.

After the dogs were gone, I could see a spider web hanging between two branches. The web was clearly visible almost sparkling in the sunlight. But I couldn’t see any spiders. In addition to that, I also saw some foreign leaves and twigs on the ground. I say foreign because the leaves and twigs were not from the trees around. A few leaves were from a red maple and I didn’t see that tree around. They were from somewhere else and maybe the wind carried them here. This time I examined a cut-out tree as well. I went to her to observe her closely. There were many holes inside and I could see many tiny plants growing inside and around her. The abandoned lifeless tree was serving her purpose even after her life. The tree made me think about the aspects of my life as my mind slowly wandered away and I was deep in my thoughts. Some of the trees around were likely hundreds of years old; they must have seen our ancestors. They have endured all different sorts of weather: rain, thunderstorm, excruciating heat. The cut-out tree must have seen many more faces than I have in my life. Such mysteries cannot be unfolded, but I felt content. I felt grateful to be at such peace. It made me want to go there often and practice mindfulness and to destress myself during busy weeks.

–Binika Rijal