Gazing up through the trees...

From my journal, August 25, 2009 while camping in Western New York State:

Gazing up through the trees, I never thought about how much life is going on all the time. Nature is a busy, busy place. Quiet and solitude are actually busy intersections of buzzing, chirping, rustling life happening endlessly and uninterupted.

The smell of woodsmoke, bug repellent, earth and flora permeate my senses. A light breeze oh so gently caresses my cheek, awakening me to take in the green forest morning with it. Not all the same green, mind you, but multiple shades and intensities which change and mutate as each leaf and blade alternates between being kissed by the warm beams of sun piercing through from high above, and the cool darkness during its rest.

Funny how every leaf is dancing. As they catch glimpses of light then go back into shade, the effect is that of glittering diamonds.

See how straight and stoic the tree trunks stand, densly populating the forest like the many hairs on my head. Tall and proud, they have withstood years of challenges beyond those which we think are so overwhelming in our day-to-day lives. Yet, there they remain, if nothing else, taller and stronger as a result of their test of time. Perhaps if we dig our roots deeper into the soil of our knowing, and when preceived adversity penetrates our thoughts stand taller and stronger, once it passes, we, too, can be more like those trees. Just keep our faces towards the light bathing our crowns like the tops of these trees. It will pull us through the stormy days, into a stronger, more solid existence.