by: Rick Johnson 
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
RikJohnson@juno.com
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Everyone needs a place to go to relax, get away from the mundane world and to
commune with the Gods. For some people, that is a relaxing bubble bath, for others, a
glade in the forest. It doesn't matter as the purpose is to center yourself and however that
works for you is best.
For my daughter, Cerridwen, and I, this place is our fish pond.
We took the side of the house that is almost useless because of it's small size and
converted it to a place of beauty in the harshness of the city. We have a small fish pond
about two feet across with the house wall on one side and bamboo on the other. The
bamboo is there for a visual and to muffle sounds and we have a tree over the site for
shade (it gets HOT in Arizona).
Then we decided what to put in our area.
We started out with feeder fish. The local pet store sells guppies and goldfish (8/$1)
to feed to other, more aggressive fish. So we spent about $5 and filled the pond with
feeder fish. They are cheap and there is essential no difference between a feeder and a
more expensive goldfish other than their size. We also added another dollar's worth of
cheap plants and tossed in a water hyacinth that a co-worker gave me.
About half the goldfish died but the rest thrived and the guppies began to breed. and
breed. and breed. We also discovered that the hyacinths took over but that gave the baby
guppies a place to hide from their parents who have the sensible attitude that children
should be eaten. And snails were discovered to be in the plants.
An eco-system was on the way to life.
For decoration, I tossed in some coral that I picked up on the beaches in Hawaii and
surrounded the pond with some Conch shells I found in Belize, Honduras and Panama.
We set a piece of flagstone near the pond for an Altar then dug under it as we added a
couple of desert tortoises.
A site like this is never a goal but a journey. Every day we discover something new.
We see the guppies mate with each other and try to mate with the goldfish. We
watch the snails breed and the pond attract dragonflies and wasps and the occasional
Africanized killer Bee. And we discover that if we relax and are quiet in body,
mind and soul, things in the corner of our vision appear. Maybe we are attracting fairies
and elementals?
Last night we bought some feeder shrimp and let them settle in. Today we will add three
koi that another co-worker has and doesn't want for this pond is a community effort for a
place for people to dump their unwanteds. My neighbors don't know that it is becoming a
sacred space, they see only a single father and his children doing things together.
And for a total investment of about $10 a few notices at the work bulletin board and
a lot of junk we had laying around the house, we have a place where we can escape the
world. A place where we can see nature in action. A place where we can watch the
interactions and ask how does life interact and live in a miniature earth.
There are problems. The toads we added left. We are looking for a really small terrapin
and we have to decide what can we add that will eat the snails. But the expected
problems didn't manifest. The fish eat the mosquitos, the wasps and killer bees ignore us
if we are quiet and the bamboo isn't spreading as fast as we had hoped. But as a path, it is
wonderful and relaxing.
Daily we see the works of the Gods and how Their creations live and love and die.
The universe isn't perfect and this pond teaches those in a relaxed and receptive mood,
how to see.
To contact me or to request topics to be covered, send to RikJohnson@juno.com
by: Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
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Return to the Writings page.
