What's On Tonight?

Ever hear that question - what's on tonight? It's Socratic, although I'm sure the great philosopher wasn't familiar with the concept of television. Come to think of it, the bearded one might have asked something more like "What is the meaning of life?" or "Which way to Athens?" Of course these days we are usually referring to the TV set - the vast Orwellian eye that is always ready to be turned on, channel surfed with mind numbing velocity. Minutes sponged from our eternal time clock searching, searching until there is the faint realization that in spite of the 500 channel universe augmented by hours of DVR minutes...there is nothing on. But I am not watching television tonight. Rather, I am contemplating the window to my back yard. There before me on the other side of the glass lives our Japanese maple tree in all of its glorious redness. And it is on - in splendid 3D energized by the myriad of life that makes this singular tree its home. Summer birds chatter, butterflies glide and squirrels leap from branch to branch. The tree is unplugged and fully operational. I sit and watch without reference to time passing or life a wasting. The universe that inhabits this singular tree is fully operational, always new, never stale. Worth watching. Anytime.