Meandering amongst the trees, staring up in wonder at the daylight peeking through the branches, rays of sunshine streaming down the towering trunks of the redwood trees in the Muir Woods 10 minutes drive north of San Francisco, one can feel quite insignificant; encompassed by the magnificence of Mother Nature.
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in”. ~John Muir.
Momentarily, every day concerns seem quite unimportant. Whilst we spend our time rushing to meet deadlines, Mother Nature’s creations stand patiently, timelessly stretching upwards towards the heavens, seemingly their only purpose in life is just to ‘be’.
“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
How often do we take the time just to ‘be’, filling our lives with things; considering ourselves so unimportant that we are driven to fill every moment with being busy? How often do we make the time to walk along a woodland path or sit and watch the stars or brood over the dawning of a new life amongst the hedgerows? If we can but pause and open our eyes to what is all around us, how more clearly will we see the pathway we are destined to travel, the stars yet to be discovered and the life within ourselves to bring into creation?
Long after we have gone, bubbling water will still chatter its ways over the stones of a shallow stream as if in conversation, ferns will sway and blow in the breeze, the sun will cast it rays of warmth as small birds settle and fluff their feathers, pecking with tiny stabs at the fallen boughs which are ripe with a lunch of scurrying bugs!
Simple things of life, surrounding us every day, almost taken for granted. We spend so much time trying to put right what we believe is imperfect yet we are surrounded by Mother Natures’ perfections. Never are we expected to paint the sky blue or cajole the sun to rise or coax the petals of a flower to unfurl, we are only asked to notice them to take joy in their existence and live harmoniously .
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. ~Buddha
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