Balm

I have the good luck combined with good planning to be able to spend a fair bit of time in nature. Without it, I'd be a mess.

Nature soothes me. It reminds me that there is beauty in its ambition to strive. To live. To continue. To counter humanity's attempts to destroy the planet while selfishly trying to improve the fate of our species.

I'm refreshed by the opportunity to spend a few mornings sitting quietly near a lake, to hear and see, to absorb. To smell the scents-nearby wild flowers and weeds, the earthy smell of the lake, the coffee in my cup. The feel of fresh air caressing my skin, the heat of the sun warming my aging skin, the hard Muskoka chair under my bones.

Birdsong and bird squawk fills the early morning air. Comforting sounds, from the three-note loon call and the piercing call of the kingfishers, to the tiny thrum of hummingbirds, and the chatter of robins, phoebes, and others I can't name. The occasional humming insect buzzes by, a few wanting to drain me of blood. Monarchs flutter serendipitous, snacking on milkweed flowers behind me. From somewhere nearby, a red squirrel chatters.

I lay on the dock for probably about an hour this morning, my head hanging over the shallows. Snails crept on the slimy rocks while varying sizes of fish drifted among the overhanging stones. A school of bigger bass swam under me, a few realizing there was a threat from above and freezing their forward motion before resuming their gang-like patrol.

This summer morning, the wind is almost non-existent, clouds are few and wispy, yet ripples like watercolour brush-strokes move across the water's surface. A splash nearby reminds me that an entire world lives below, a world who's structure we can only imagine. And it continues without our 'help,' in fact, it's better off without our interference.

I wish we could coexist with nature in a less selfish manner.

Enjoy the world you're in, wherever you are.