I want to improve my reveling skills.
Maybe I’m making it up
but I’m pretty sure birds revel–
singing, soaring, catching thermal updrafts,
landing with precision on just the right tree
without even shaking a branch.

No question, dogs revel.
I watch my golden girl
breathe in the scent of
“gopher on the move”
or “mouse in snow tunnel”
with her whole being.

Then she digs for all she’s worth:
tail wagging, snorting,
pulling up to listen,
head cocking from side to side,
then plunging in again–
the mighty huntress, who,
despite her joy at the task,
would not, I suspect,
last a week if her meals
depended on her hunting prowess.

Nonetheless, she revels.
She revels like I want to revel:
with all my senses alert and joyful
with a heart full to bursting
with all that is good right here
in this moment.

Why is it that when I want something
and work really hard to get it,
when it’s here, I worry that it will go away?
What a fascinatingly dull way
to try to manage expectations,
all the while smothering the joy
right out of the moment.

Nope, I want to revel,
like birds and dogs
and so many other beings.
I want to check my big brain at the door
and return to animal knowing.

The part that rolls
with full body delight
in whatever smells good to you.
The part that eats a bowl of food
with tremendous gusto,
then slurps a drink of water,
circles three times,
and lies down with total contentment.

Reveling is a lost art–
it’s gratitude’s crazy old auntie,
who is someone I definitely want
to greet at the door with a big hug,
share a piece of cake with lots of frosting,
then go outside and make snow angels together!

I’m certain the dog would join in,
the birds would land somewhere and watch,
and all the animal beings in the neighborhood
would quietly smile to themselves,
then go back to their own reveling.

Wild Musings:

Can you remember the last time you really reveled in something? It doesn’t mean everything in your life is just how you want it to be, it’s more about noticing whatever does feel lined up for you right now, and then loving it. Letting yourself really enjoy the goodness of whatever that is for you.

A Wild Dare?

Give yourself a good revel. It may take a little practice depending on your outlook, but surely there are some things that are really sweet in your life right now. Identify those things, and then let it rip. Explore what lies beyond gratitude in the world of reveling. See if you can work up a really good one, then try to keep the “worrying that it will go away” thoughts parked for a while.