The Neighborhood

I love my neighborhood,

you know.

The view from my front porch of the perfectly manicured lawns, all the homes with identical tranquil faces, an occasional homeowner strolling leisurely toward the mail box, and a quietness that feeds the soul satisfies the longing for perfect order of my Virgo nature. Some days that picture is enough, but not always, because I have an Aquarius side to my nature that craves change and growth and constant motion that can never be satisfied with the man-made perfection of my front porch view.

Perhaps that is the reason I have a back patio that overlooks the hodgepodge of color that only nature can paint. From this place I am alone in the universe where things are in a constant state of progress and transformation. Birds singing as they flitter from tree-top to tree-top, the sound of deer stirring as they trample through the undergrowth, the gentle breeze whispering in the leaves and swaying the branches, butterflies nonchalantly sashaying about, clouds skimming across the sky, all remind me that the man-made order of the front porch view, although wonderful, pales in comparison to the God ordained order of my back patio backdrop.

But I love them both equally, the front porch view and the back patio view, as well as the Virgo and Aquarius sides of my nature, and for a moment sometimes I wonder what it would be like to sit on the roof-top side-by-side with God and marvel at the wonder of the panoramic view of my own little neighborhood –a compilation of God ordained and man-made order.

I love my neighborhood, you know.

©2006 Ilene Madrigal