I flew to Baton Rouge this weekend to speak to a group. Leaving early on Friday, I missed my morning meditation, but thought I’d get some quiet time later in the day to regroup.

I read on the plane – a fellow author and I exchanged books over a year ago and I’m finally around to reading hers. I am learning so much more about her, and the tragedies that make us who we are. I wonder why I ever sought to be perfect … it is in our imperfections and life’s trials that we can truly relate to one another.

My host picked me up at the airport and asked my preference for the day’s events, including an invitation fpr a trip down the bayou in their boat. Well, don’t twist my arm!

My hope for quiet meditation was fulfilled in a way I never anticipated. Once out on the beautiful waterways, we drifted about on small alcove off the mainstream. My host and her husband stabbed crickets with hooks and tossed them time and time again over the still water, hoping that an unsupecting fish would bite.

Me? I reveled in my meditation, listening to the quiet of nature. I heard chirps, peeps and an old bull frog croaking out a love song that went unanswered. The sun was warm, the breeze gentle and I was gifted with the spiritual experience that I craved.

Remember my friend Norman, who said that cats are everywhere, and when I walk, I look for them? Well, he obviously was never on the bayou. Here, turtles are everywhere. When I spotted the first one, I searched for more, and there they were! On logs, on shore banks, everywhere. Now that, to me, is a spiritual experience, as was the family of huge American bald eagles that swooped out of a moss-laiden cypress tree and treated us to an aerial show that I’ll not soon forget. Spiritual moments are everywhere when our hearts are open to receive them.