The Forest

Close your eyes and picture yourself walking through a beautiful forest. Rays of sunlight are shining through the trees, and shadows cross the narrow path where you are walking. It's autumn, and the bright reds and oranges of the season surround you. The smell of leaves and the scent of pine fill your nostrils. You can feel the cool crispness of the fall air.

As you come around a corner, you see a small family of deer about fifty feet away. You pause to admire them for a moment.

Continuing, you come to a stream where crystal clear water is flowing. Leaves are floating on the surface of the water, swirling their way to destinations unknown. Your path leads to a small footbridge, and you stop for a moment to admire the stream, listening to its quiet and soothing trickling sound.

There is a small meadow near this stream, and you decide to sit for a few minutes and eat your lunch there. No one else is around, and you find solace in solitude.

As you bite into the sandwich you brought, its taste washes over you. A feeling of gratitude comes over you as you think about the many people who made it possible for you to enjoy this simple meal: the bakers who made the bread, the delivery truck drivers who brought it to the store where you shop, the farmers who grew the produce. When you are finished, you take a drink of cool water from your canteen and resume your journey.

Soon you come to a group of aspen trees, yellow leaves quaking in the light breeze. A few minutes later, you reach a ridge and are greeted with a beautiful vista. You can see for miles: snow-topped mountain peaks and colored leaves. You take it all in, breathing in the sights and sounds, mesmerized by the sensory experience of being alive. It's something no camera can completely capture.

You decide it's time to return. You walk past the aspen trees and the meadow, then across the footbridge, and you follow the path back to where you started. As you leave this beautiful place, you silently thank the forest for sharing its beauty with you today.