The Daily Balance.
Several mornings a week, Sparky and I hike the trails overlooking the ocean near my home. Scrub brush and a few old shedding eucalyptus trees line the pathway. Each day I choose a fallen brown parchment leaf that speaks to me and represents how I feel and determines the mood for my day. Somedays it’s a leaf with torn edges when my knees are acting up. Somedays it’s a large broad leaf that shouts, “Think big! Dare to be bold!”
Further along the path, a transplanted old stump sits upright beckoning daily hikers to adorn it with rocks and twigs in a balancing act. My usual contribution is one of my chosen leaves which I think look like wings and encourages me to fly. This representation of accumulated nature seems to say, “Don’t let anybody knock you off your path!”
This morning I was feeling a little blue so wanted to find a greener leaf as a sign of newness and rebirth. It seems almost as quickly as the leaves fall, they turn brown with age. How quickly life passes… Only one wilting green trio was in sight. I picked it up along with a lanky, slightly curvy dark leaf and walked them to the “pillar of strength.” I carefully tucked the leaves among the balancing rocks and whispered a prayer for lightness and flexibility in my life. As I proceeded down the trail, there was a spring in my step and a release of tension. A team of 20 pelicans glides in front of me, their gentle strength and synchronicity with nature reminding me to embrace life with grace and not to flap so hard. A new day has begun and I am here enjoying the solitude of nature and salty ocean breezes. How can life be any better?
Sparky enjoying a few moments of reflection at his favorite spot further down the trail.
“Everything you can imagine is real.”
― Pablo Picasso
Ciao for now,
Mary
