Nature's Reserves

Living gratefully today, I savor the morning quiet and the meaningful connections in my life. 

The pandemic delivered a real sucker punch to us all last spring, but it also booted more people outside in the early weeks and the months since. I have seen more walkers and bikers on local trails, more people along the riverfront in our community.  

Fall and winter needn’t be different . . . embracing each season, embracing the natural world, brings a peace that surpasses whatever else is going on. Even if it is a fleeting peace and calm on certain days, that is far better than continuing to simply rush headlong into the chaos we likely all feel at times. 

Fall happens to be my favorite season, and though the calendar hasn't made it official yet, our recent weather has. The daylight is getting shorter, the temperatures cooler, the sun's angle and intensity is shifting. 

I captured these two pictures last evening on a bike ride:

The rush of uncertainty, fear, and unknowns that the pandemic has brought. The quietude of the setting sun on another day. Another day I made it through, we made it through. Another day that brought smiles and laughter and joy to offset the unsettling emotions that are always near these days too. 

That is the strength that Rachel Carson speaks of below. We are enduring a difficult stretch in our lives, individually and collectively. We are resilient. Nature reminds us of that each day. In giving attention to the natural world, depleted reserves become replete. 

Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves 

of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.