I was driving along the Bolinas lagoon this afternoon, with my window open and rather not focused on the scenery, simply watching the road and lost in thought, when my nostrils were at once assaulted by the fabulous anise smell of wild fennel growing thick and fuzzy along the black top… The smell was so intense, it took over anything else. Even the marine swampy whiff that signals low tide on a warm breezy day was overwhelmed… I was sitting in a bouquet of spicy green scent, and because of it, acutely present to my surroundings now, to the light, to the sounds, and to the waves and tones of the redolent air unfurling in my car like an ethereal scarf…
It lasted for maybe half a mile, but it was enough to get me back into my body and to precious Now…The only time there is. Because of some warm fennel exhaling in the sun, I came back to my senses… Literally.
There are moments of grace. They happen anywhere, at the most unexpected times, and for a while it feels like our soul is aligned and reveling in the marvel of its embodiment. In an instant, a spark of primal beingness is ignited, a sharpened sensory awareness of oneself and the world… of oneself being of this world.
That was one. I could seize it, taste it, admire it and savor it while it lasted and it made me feel grateful all over again for being here…
More later…