The Garden of Eden

Winter is over and I feel like saying "Glory hallelujah!" I like all seasons except winter. I do not enjoy the wind storms, the loss of electricity that often comes with it, the snow, ice, hazardous roads, gray skies, and excessive rain. So when spring makes its appearance again, I am delighted. Today, the sun was out, there was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds, all the birds were singing, it seems in agreement with me at the joy of another spring having arrived. So we decided to eat lunch outside. We had all been battling colds, and were finally starting to feel better, every one had the day off, and so we could have our first outside meal, on the deck in our backyard. All the windows in the house were open, the front door was open, the backdoor sliding glass door was open, it felt wonderful, all this light and fresh air coming into the house on a sunny Monday afternoon. Michael had put up the large deck umbrella, and I put a fresh bouquet of daffodils from the garden on the glass table out there, got out the plates, silverware, glasses, napkins, the honey for the cornbread muffins, the sweetened butter, as the chicken fried steak and red mashed potatoes were warming in the oven. Our orchard bees were happily buzzing in and out of their wooden houses Michael built them, the two cats were eagerly sitting near the deck table, in anticipation of a bite of steak. Then, everything was ready, we loaded up our plates and headed outside. To eat outside always gives me such a deep feeling of contentment and joy. What is it about eating outside that is so satisfying, especially when you are surrounded by nature's beauty and bounty? We have flowers everywhere, by the time summer rolls around, there are lilies, pansies, petunias, hyacinth, sunflowers, carnations, begonias, roses, peonies,...and the abundance of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and the vegetables in the greenhouse: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes. It truly feels like the garden of Eden , as there is also an abundance of trees, bushes, ferns. To sit on the deck and look out, while eating a good meal is so satisfying, it just makes me feel very happy. Perhaps that happiness comes from a deep longing in our mythology to be reconnected to paradise, to Eden, the garden of Eden, where abundance and peace in complete happiness were an apparent constant reality. Perhaps when we are sitting on our deck, surrounded by nature's bounty, this deep, deep longing has a chance to be fulfilled again, just briefly, but ever so sweetly.To eat outside is to experience the possibility of making our way back to Eden as tangible, and real, and maybe that is why eating outside just feels so good.