Welcome to TheWingedLife.com,
the website of Toledo, Ohio
psychologist, marriage counselor,
author, and speaker
Kevin Anderson, Ph.D.
(419) 785-8645
In the spring of 2013, Kevin Anderson was on retreat in southeastern Ohio. As he sat on the back deck of a cabin in the woods, the rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker echoed through the forest. This moment led to the first of sixty-three brief meditations (none more than a page) on what nature can teach us about how to be in this world.
Noble willow,
for so long I have tried to
do God's will
but on this breezy summer day
all I want is to do nothing
but watch you so gracefully
do God's willow—
teach me how to be in this world.
copyright 2014 by Kevin Anderson
Noble sun,
on duty 24 / 7 / 365 / 4 billion
holding great orbs in orbit
but never too preoccupied
by the gravity
of your responsibilities
to ripen a tomato—
teach me how to be in this world.
copyright 2014 by Kevin Anderson
Noble woodpecker,
at home in the rotted
hollow of a trunk
your headbanging search for sustenance
ringing out, echoing—
metronome of the forest
completely in time
with the beat of your nature
with the rhythm of Nature
the tempo of eternity—
teach me how to be in this world.
copyright 2014 by Kevin Anderson
Noble elk,
standing in an icy rain
on a wooded mountainside
at midnight—
no home
but Earth
no wealth
but what is given
in each moment
no health care
insurance, only the assurance
of this breath
this now—
teach me how to be in this world.
copyright 2014 by Kevin Anderson