A Toad Dropped By

The amazing things you see when you are aware.

photo by Christopher Marlow

Taking out the trash might seem like the least likely thing to connect to mindfulness.

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Each morning my practice is to start the day by walking outside and connecting with the Earth.

Typically my son takes care of the trash but the holiday had thrown off the schedule and it fell to me to do instead.

Despite the task I decided to stay with my routine. The air was thick as it often is in July. You could almost ‘see’ the humidity.

I paused, took a deep breath, and felt the ground beneath my feet. The grass still wet from rain the night before felt cool. Sticky air surrounded me.

I was connected to my surroundings and my day.

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Rolling the trash can to the curb I noticed something unusual at the base of the maple tree that sits in the middle of the yard.

It’s an older tree with lots of crags and twisted bark.

At first, I thought it was wet bark but as I got close I could see it was a large toad.

The toad stayed in that spot most of the day. My son was kind enough to take this marvelous picture for me later that day.

If I had simply walked out of the house and taken care of the trash there is no way I’d have noticed him.

By being present and centered I witnessed something fun.

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It’s amazing what we can see when we are aware.