Jericho Leap Year

The Daily Jericho
I write to explore what I am thinking; I take photos to see what I am looking at - both to find out more about life.

February 29, 2020 - a gift to us all. How often do we receive an extra day in our lives? I woke up and leaped with joy at the thought of having an extra day in February, 29 days instead of the usual 28, as though Santa’s GPS malfunctioned and steered him back to our house for the second time. And each time he delivered not packages but the best gift ever - free time. Time to follow that oft buried free-wheeling desire to do what the heart seeks at the moment.

Time to think, to see, to feel.

Fresh fallen snow, so fresh and puffy I imagined the light airy smell at my favorite bakery - nothing like fresh baked bread, except maybe fresh snow to instantly lift my spirits. Shoveling was not a chore but an excuse to encounter powdery snow-white snow - both continuing falling flakes and resting accumulations of feathery families of fantastic crystals all glimmering in the dawn of an extra and free morning.

Birds arrived from their overnight roosts to gorge on black-oil sunflower seed, proso millet, mixed nuts, suet, and peanut butter spread out over a hanging tree branch - all just outside our kitchen window. I leaped, literally leaped with joy at seeing their wispy fluttering as they each jostled for position at the feeders, some patiently waiting their turn, others maneuvering their way into the chow line with a more determined and seemingly urgent appetite. Life abounds even in the dormancy of winter. 

Suddenly my visual attention shattered as the aroma - what a weak word for such a great morning flavor of air - of coffee entered my every pore. I think coffee bean harvesters must surely chew coffee beans like we chew gum, only with a much more attentive and satisfying resolution. What is it about coffee or tea, or a good sipping dark chocolate whether in a paper cup, reusable cup, or hardly ever washed well stained heavy white restaurant-grade mug, that makes the start of even the most challenging of days seem do-able, even pleasant to face?

Add the hot steamy coffee to the postcard outdoor winter scene, all lifted by the lofty flight of birds - preserved and relished inside free time - a leap year gift of an extra day, this is what second chances, and paradise, and look and you will behold, are about.

Yes, I leaped with joy, in fact, did so many times throughout  February’s benefaction.  I wonder why should I wait four more years, for another extra day? Why not look at every day available as one to cherish, explore, discover for its richness, and do with what the heart most desires. When necessary I can attend to traditional duties, I can alternate between extreme discipline and the varieties of abandon. Still, there is a special pleasure in knowing that Leap years - when the calendar malfunctions and delivers us 29 instead of 28 days, remind us that each day offers the opportunity to leap with joy overseeing and thinking about life.

Cheers, 


Bernie