"Perfect" days are such a delightful gift when they serendipitously arrive and present our senses with the full bouquet of nature and life that enfolds us.
There are many of those days in my life but the most recent one whispered to me "you are home" in a new and wonderful way. My "beloved" had put the hammock out in the garden, nestled between trees and partway between the labyrinth and the house. Birds seemed to be everyone, flitting, singing, calling back and forth, feeding, darting about, chasing each other through the trees, and causing my ears to listen intently for their different songs. The air was still cool but the sun had come out for a change and so I lay there in the double hammock, wrapped in a worn and soft quilt keeping warm. Closing my eyes I let my senses drink in the sanctuary and refuge of this quiet, sheltered oasis, where the traffic was a distant whisper, and the solitude was like the breath of the Almighty placing shalom in abundance deep in my soul. The world around me carried on and I became still - a deep inner stillness that combines shalom, contentment, and the knowing that the cup of sorrow and joy have blended to a sweet smooth vintage.
The hammock swayed gently and I fell asleep.