When the weather reached nearly 60 degrees last week, Juliet suggested that we visit the Chicago Botanic Gardens.  It was the perfect outing for the sunny and unseasonably warm day. There is a lot less to do and see at the Gardens in the winter, but we were enjoying the peace and quiet when we came upon a tractor digging out the ponds. The water had been removed and the giant tractor sat at the bottom of the pond scooping up soggy mud from one side and moving it to the other side.

We stood there in silence for the longest time, the kids and I, lost in the rhythm as the tractor would swivel, scoop, swivel, dump… swivel, scoop, swivel, dump. We waited and listened for the tractor to dump the mud, which made a most satisfying sound as it plopped into the mounting pile of brown sludge. We watched as the earth gave way and swallowed up the incoming muck, buckling out in giant ripples. We were entranced.

What astounding power we have in this life and on this planet – the power to create or destroy, to build up or break down. We can take whatever lies before us and sculpt it into whatever we can conceive of in our minds. It’s as simple as swivel, scoop, swivel, dump. With an end goal in mind we can proceed to move and shift one small load of muck at a time, gently molding our own future as we go. Swivel, scoop, swivel, dump… swivel, scoop, swivel, dump…