This week I moved into my new home in the woods. The house is surrounded by trees that stretch over three acres. For the better part of my life up until now I have lived in the city, feeling that I was at the center of communications, culture and stimulation, believing that I had everything at my fingertips…..maybe so, but there is more to life, as I am learning.

The transition from city to country, granted, has been made easier because of technology, but the trees and land have a language of their own. Each morning I take my cup of coffee out to my deck and listen to the choir of nature, with the backdrop of branches swaying back and forth. There is alot to be said for peace and tranquility…. as one gets older the value of them increases greatly. I used to believe I needed the constant bombardment of news, information and current affairs, to feel a “part of the picture,” while not realizing co-existing at the same time is the support system of nature that keeps it all in balance.

Many of us, over time, accumulate questions…the why’s, the who’s, the where’s? Sometimes without knowing, we begin a search to find what it’s all about. I believe the tools are there….we just have to use them. The body and soul crave to find balance to coexist in a world that struggles with equilibrium. What are some of the tools? Faith, Knowledge, Simplicity and Peace of Mind….not easy things to maintain these days….but they are our weapons against turmoil.

It could be a room, a place, a state of mind, but it’s important that it’s something that we can go to daily to replenish ourselves against negativity. Life is a garden that constantly needs nurturing and attention….when weeds grow, they must be removed. For the trees to reach for the sky they too need water and light. Are we really so different? Man has distanced himself from Nature, when it is Nature from “whence he came.” Maybe this is one of the lessons of Life that God expected us to learn.

Seek the silence,
Jennifer Avalon
© 1999 Jennifer Avalon