Breakfast by the Water

We ran errands the other morning, grabbing some breakfast to go at a cafe. We sat on the banks of a lake and ate. We sat in the shade, idly looking out at the lily pads when a crane flew in and stood among them in the water. There are stories about martial arts styles inspired by the movement of cranes, so I was curious to watch it for a while.

We watched it watch the water for a while. It stood still, then took a careful step forward and stood still some more. Its head seems to be a separate thing from the rest of its body: it extends horizontally out in front, like a probe, and then it takes a step so that its body can be close again, like an old-fashioned vacuum cleaner being pulled along behind the hose and nozzle.

Eventually, I noticed it noticing something, and again its head seemed to take the lead, ahead of its body. It turned its head smoothly to the right without moving the rest of its body and took a step in that new direction just before plunging its head down into the water. It came back up with a prize I couldn’t quite see (fish? frog?), but it was breakfast, in any case.

We used to have to work for food a lot more directly. We would need to cultivate patience, awareness, stillness and quick, decisive movements to be able to do that again. Breakfasts would be more… focused and engaging.