Watching the Pears Grow

It's been unplanned, but I've developed a practice every day thus far in my first week of Sabbatical. Just being on the ground underneath the pear trees. Sometimes I nap, sometimes I read, sometimes I sit, sometimes all of the above.

There is something about being directly on the Earth for a couple hours that just slows everything right down.
I have found that the shade the trees provide in the late morning is lovely, and I follow it as it travels around the grassy parts of the backyard.

My dear friend Stacey is going through a difficult time right now, and when she came over and we sat under the pear trees, I assured her that once the pears were ripe -- around the Autumnal Equinox -- we would sit here again, enjoying their honey-sweet, delicately crisp deliciousness, and things would be different for her than they are right now. That's a season. I have put myself on that time frame as well. At the Autumnal Equinox, I will check in with myself about where my energy is and whether or not it is time to initiate the Active Phase of the Professional Development Plan. Until then, I am in the Receptive Phase. Which may last two seasons. Just like nature. And as Mister Rogers once said:

"In the long, long trip of growing, there are stops along the way. It's important to know when we need to stop, reflect, and receive. In our competitive world, that might be called a waste of time. I've learned that these times can be a preamble to periods of enormous growth."