We seek refuge on the porch each afternoon in a ritual known simply as “time for coffee.” Somehow just out the door we’re a step away from the pull of obligations and worries. Here we feel centered by the light through the trees or the sounds of birds or the strange lumbering grace of a bumblebee in the flowers.
Our lives, and yours too, are twisted into knots so complicated we can’t see where they start or end. Those complications are made of bills to be paid, old arguments that didn’t heal, long hours and too little sleep, by endless political bluster and the fallout it causes. It’s good to let go of those tangles, even for a while.
Today on the porch we watched an insect we’d never seen before. It skittered without visible wings, its body open like the spokes on a wheel or the arms of a star. It looked improbable as an undersea creature swimming in the air. We gaped in quiet wonder until it was out of sight.
A few moments of awe are all it takes to remind us that our lives aren’t about those knots. We are pulsing, breathing wonders ourselves in a world bursting with miracles. It takes looking closely at only one thing to see those miracles, whether watching a spider spin her web or watching fungi spring up seemingly overnight. We exist for so short a time on this beautiful planet. We clamor over our concerns when our lives may be better measured by how much awe we allow ourselves.
I have things to do, but it’s time for coffee. I’m heading for the porch. Hope you do the same.
We are, perhaps, uniquely among the earth’s creatures, the worrying animal. We worry away our lives, fearing the future, discontent with the present, unable to take in the idea of dying, unable to sit still. Lewis Thomas
Bit of Earth Farm 
As I read this, I am on the porch, coffee at my side. Cicadas sing their late August song in the distance; the chickens announce that another egg has been laid. Gentle breezes make the trees sway, and clouds dance across the sky. Lovely, isn’t it.
Ahhhhhh.
I have spent a LOT of time on my porch over the last couple of days. A very healing place. Thank you for your lovely post Laura and for all your wise writings. 🙂
Is it me or are we all in need of MUCH more porch time lately Beverley?
This is what I’m doing when I ride my bike out into the rural countryside before dawn.
Thanks for sharing. It is definitely a wondrous thing to sit, look, listen and be still.
Porches and coffee. My morning and end of day ritual. Winter is so long….