I Watched a Bird Bath in a Puddle and It Pulled Me Fully Into the Present for Thirty Seconds

Dear Delyara, I was carrying shopping from the car, already halfway into dinner planning, when I saw it — one small bird in a shallow puddle near the pavement, throwing water over itself with complete concentration and absolutely no awareness of my deadlines, my money worries, my children’s needs, or the emotional weather of my week. I stood still. For thirty seconds, my mind stopped leaning ahead. It joined my eyes where they were. I think that’s why nature reaches me so strongly now. It does not need me. It does not ask me to be useful before I am allowed to receive it. It simply exists, and if I notice, the reward is immediate. Presence. That little bird gave me that. And I needed it more than I knew until I had it.