Dawn Walking to Still the Mind

I have started to walk early, when it is still dark, before the birds awaken and stillness reigns. The quiet is soft and I can hear the trees, tall, whispering, watching. The see me and I listen. My footsteps make no sound as if rooted to the earth and I look up, up, up and I lift my arms and touch their lofty branches… and I too am a tree.

The darkness begins to lighten and I notice the white snow-berries, inviting me to notice their beauty, contrasting with the forest’s palette of green. They delight me with their simplicity, stark, yet complete, waiting perhaps for a single deer to share in their bounty.

I continue my dawn walk, but hear no stirrings … just the voices of the trees and the plants as they begin to welcome the day. Alone, but connected, I wait for the first awakenings of our winged friends. And soon, my sisters and brothers, the crows begin to announce they are now on call, as sentinels for the wooded neighborhood. Observant, they take their role seriously as they wait for their fellow flocked amigos to awaken.

And soon the symphony of trills and calls begin. I take out my bird call app to help identify these early risers. Woodpeckers and squirrels have awakened, and I know the chickadees will soon join in.

Blessed with the stillness of my dawn walk - connected to Nature — I walk home — Content.