Hello Nature, I'm Listening

“Nature freshly blanketed in white, speaks to us not in voice, but feeling. Inviting us to step into existence, to awaken, to participate. For there is a presence within this silence, and her name is present.”

I love running. It’s an activity you can enjoy in just about any weather condition. I personally love running in the snow, mainly because I don’t get to do it very often. So when flakes start falling in my town, I suited up and hit the trails. Right away I realized, this run will be more technical than normal as snow turned the hilly trail into an ice rink. About halfway through the run, off my pace and fighting the whole way, I stopped to catch my breath. It was then I noticed just how silent the forest was blanketed with a layer of snow. Not an eerie silence, but one that brought a feeling of calm. Then it hit me, I need to slow down and be present. So I through my pace out the window and started paying attention to my feet connecting to the ground. I immediately went from fighting for every step to being calm and enjoying the rest of my run.   

Many times in life we miss the joy of connecting with the present moment because we are either stuck in the past, looking to the future or are blinded by busyness. Most of the time we get away with it until circumstances come along that makes us choose. Mother nature is really good at this. We can either calm down and be present, or fight her the whole way. The choice is ours.