Have you ever..

Have you ever walked barefoot on a dewy morning,
on a carpet of green grass, wet and glistening with the morning dew?
The warmth of the rising sun on your face, the coolness of the dew
soaking your soles, and the feel of the sticky-grass-blades between your toes…
clinging to your wet heels…

Have you ever really seen the moon on a full-moon night,
listened to the dogs howling at the moon for the sheer joy of being,
and wanted to howl along? And have you ever felt the rush
as the blood in your veins answered the call of the moon,
rising with the ocean tides and the green sap in the trees…?

Have you ever flown with an eagle, let your soul soar to the skies?
Have you ever imagined what it must be to fly free, surfing the air waves,
rising and falling and swirling with the currents and eddies,
floatiing on wings that are as one with the winds,
wingtips slicing through crisp air and the rush of it on your breast,
and in every feather? The wind, whispering, singing… and then howling
in your ears as you drift, dance and dive deep into the roaring ocean of air…

Have you ever been in a forest on a dark night? Heard the creak and whisper
of trees and the the night sounds, of life moving in the dark, the rustle
of dry leaves, the whoosh and beat of unseen wings and the sudden alarm calls
slicing through the whisper-quiet night…?
Have your ever breathed the fresh air laden with the sweet smell
of decaying leaves, laced with the scent of wild flowers and raw bark
and fresh green leaves?

Have you ever really felt the rain? Felt the cool touch of its fingers drumming
its wild non-rhythm on your skin, soaking your hair, pooling in your eyes, running down
in rivulets like cool rivers across a warm desert? Have you ever let it soak you
right down to your soul?

Have you ever stood on a high mountain top… marvelling at the power
that lifted it from the low plains to the high heavens? Have you ever stood in awe,
humbled by the monumental majesty of the ever-rising peaks
reaching out to touch the silver clouds?

Have you ever realy touched a tree? Let your hand feel the rough bark,
skin against skin, and felt the pulse of life throbbing through it,
alive to the elements, the sun, the moon, the wind and the rain…

Have you ever laid yourself down on the beach, close to the waves, in the wet sand,
and listened to the music of the ocean? The crash, the slap of water on the shore
and the soft whispered farewell of receding waves…
Have you ever been carried away, caught in the hypnotic, primordial rhythm?

Have you ever stood knee-deep in a flowing stream, and felt the tickle
of darting fish nibbling at your feet? Have you ever drank from a forest stream,
the water rich and sweet, flavoured with the myriad essences of pure,
unsullied nature…?

Have you ever been hopelessly in love? Loved for love’s sake?
The love a yearning, a deep hunger, an elixir, an intoxication that consumes
you with its intensity, a permanent high that stays with you
through sleep, through wakefulness…through your every breath…


Have you ever really…lived…?