Barred owls calling and gathering in the summer heat starts with a more constant murmuring of “who” than the standard call until others can be heard responding. Invisible in the dark canopy they assemble, talking and hooting over one another and then as a group move away. Voices fading into the night, southwest through the woods.

Being present, in time, place, and mind opens the door to the many small opportunities that nature offers us. Small opportunities only in the sense of how fleetingly the window is open that allows us to see, learn and understand our place in the life of the planet.

Picasso supposedly said that the problem is keeping the child in the artist. While he may have been speaking about creativity it applies to many aspects of living well, to being present.

Child like curiosity and the fearlessness to explore. Open acceptance. Innocence. Asking, asking, asking: why, how, when… It’s the child that allows us to live a life of creativity without the fear of failure that leaves the word unwritten, the canvas bare.

All this because the owls gathered in the night…