Speeding through November with December around the corner, a pause is warranted in the daily flow to reflect, to think, to breath.

The sun settles into the horizon earlier as darkness consumes more time and the cold encourages us to seek more warmth within ourselves.

The day emerges slowly with orange and purple streaks as the light first touches treetops and barren branches covered with frost.

Thankful to be part of this scene, I kneel before one of thousands of trees working together, place my hand gently on the bark and say thanks.

A moment of silence through the shadows crossing my face says more than words I can write or speak in a lifetime.

As I wander this maze of fields and trees I come upon a boundary of sorts, a transition of one landscape to another, from the empty fields to the mature forest, and I pause.  I close my eyes and I breathe deeply, the cool autumn air into these city-depleted lungs, filled with concrete and glass, from industry. 

Here I am in nature’s playground, surrounded by the animals I can only hear and not see, and she allows me to be in peace, allows me to be a small part of this living and breathing organism, interconnected in ways we struggle to understand, even as it becomes more vital for survival.  For this awareness and lesson, for this respite, I am eternally thankful.