For many winters I have had the joyful privilege of pruning the orchard trees at the Molino. Trees are pruned annually to maintain their health and to even out their crop. Branches need to be kept strong. As maturing fruit needs access to the sun to ripen, overcrowded foliage needs to be thinned.
So, for many hours over many days, out in the open air, I would prune the trees, either from up a ladder, or from the ground.
Those magic times I felt myself at one with Nature – the foliage, the changing skies, the movements of sun and wind, the passing birds, animals and insects.
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Then came the gap of the pandemic – with its lockdowns: schools, shops, and workplaces closing, travel severely restricted.
I was lucky as I live in a small country town in the South of England so was able to go for walks in the surrounding countryside to a spot in Nature free from people. There I could do my daily voice practice.
I freely sang the five long romance vowels = A ( pronounced as in “far”), O (as in “hot”), E (as in “yes”), U (as in “sue”), and I (sounded as the ‘ee’ in “see”).
Raj going for daily voice practice in shorts and flip-flops in winter 2021 (photo-Steven Homewood)
By going to the same spot each day I attuned myself to receive what Nature offered. Slowly birds and animals accepted my presence, and I grew to love them.
Raj comforting our Minoute at the Molino
I found increasing joy in simply “being”. Being happy without a “reason”.
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Then came the lifting of pandemic restrictions. The silent streets of lockdowns turned into an increasing rush of traffic, and noises of lorries and building began again. New businesses began to take over. A hectic scramble to chase the greed of selling, selling, buying, buying, again. All this mad activity is never going to give us happiness, but is very likely to give us distress.
In my own life, I see that I have been sucked into working harder and longer in order to buy things which I not only don’t need, but which became a burden to me. Chasing inessentials takes us away from ourselves, away from Nature, away from peace, from stillness, from reverence for beauty and simplicity.
More people today are questioning the way we live, how we want to relate to others, how we want to act with Nature from which we spring and which nurtures us.
Now is the time to review how we are living and how we want to lay foundations for the survival of all that matters.
Now is the time for the Fourth Phase.
Welcome it, embrace it.
Refresh the Paradise Garden.
Bear fruit!
Much Love.
Raj
Raj Everett