Did you know that removing a box turtle from his/her habitat causes horrendous stress? They are firmly attached to the area where they were born. Removing them causes enormous stress  as they wander aimlessly trying to get back to their home. The stress will shorten their life. Their quality of life immediately diminishes.

I think of the migrating geese and other birds that travel thousands of miles in one migration. Tiny sparrows make similar journeys. They simply know their home. Unlike the geese and sparrows, my Garmin is permanently attached to me so that I can, with at least one “recalculation” each trip, navigate the 10 mile radius around my home.

A rather circuitous introduction to the image. It is an image of a hawk, caught in the wind, making an amazing arc with a full wing span. The sun illuminated his wings. For a moment I thought that must have been what Icarus looked like as he soared towards the sun. Or perhaps a cliff diver diving up into the sky with arched body, open heart, and arms wide open. The sunlight and nearness made the arc and power so palpable I shuddered and could not breathe. It took a minute to recover. When I could breathe I noticed I could still feel him in the sky. My camera captured the sky. My heart beats faster knowing he is there.

For a while it seems as if my own journey has been as many miles as the geese and sparrows. Unlike the geese and sparrows, I was a little dislocated and discombobulated hobbit box turtle without her Garmin. It took only seconds for the hawk to arch, stretch his wings, and dive into his windswept arc. Seconds that morphed into an infinite moment. When the heart is open to this moment, we are home. That IS home. Any other searching or seeking is aimless. I am what I was looking for. My heart is my Garmin.

Oh, I will still use my Garmin driving. But now each recalculation is a most grand mindfulness moment…and a giggle. And synchronicity is awesome. On a long road trip this past October, my dear friend Karen changed the car icon on my Garmin from a standard little blue car…to a hawk. When I turned my car on, after seeing the hawk, and saw the little hawk icon on the map… well… What can I say but sweet mercy.

Can you see the hawk now? Perhaps to take a slow deep breath. Sit down in the grass or dive into the blue sky. Recalculate.  No judgement. Simply recalculate and feel the arch and extension of your heart as your flight arcs home. A circuitous journey without ever having left.

 Recalculate.