Just Go With The Current

This morning I went a different route on my walk. I went off the main roads and walked the Parkway. I need the music of my ipod to keep my walking. Ususally I listen to the tune and I speed up or slow down depending on what the beat of the particular song is. Today, I listened to the words and there were some messages that I needed to hear. (Thanks Kara--my personal electronic consultant)

I always enjoy the sunshine, the fresh air and the massive mountains as I am walking, but today I was impressed to stop on the bridge over the river. I stood and watched the water flow past--around the rocks and deadwood in the river's path. Then I turned and looked the other direction. Floating in the river were a pair of ducks. I first, of course, noticed the beautiful color of the male mallard as he swam gracefully, in one direction, downstream by the edge of the river. Then I noticed the female. She was a rather blah color of brown but she definitely had her own beauty. In contrast to the male, she was right in the middle of the river where the current was the fastest and the roughest. As I watched I thought, "there is something wrong with that duck." She was bobbing up and down with the deep ripples of the river and she was doing 360's in the water! But the longer I watched I saw her spinning and moving with the water. It was quite a ride she was having. Both she and the male reached the bend in the river and disappeared around the wide curve as I stood and watched.

It was then that it hit me. She wasn't fighting against the bumps and dips in the water and she didn't go headfirst to the bend. For onlookers it might have even appeared that she had no direction--at first I even thought there was something wrong with her. She let the flow of the river carry her along.

Then as I walked up the steep hill, I stopped again (not something I hardly ever do when I walk) and I looked out over the valley. The beautiful changing leaves were really breathtaking. There were all colors ranging from vibrant green to deep red. As I looked more closely I notice that none of the trees were changing colors at the same time. There were identical trees standing right next to each other but their leaves were different colors. They shared the same soil, the same sunshine, the same mountain air, but their timing for changing was different.

Eventually, most will lose their leaves as the wind becomes colder and the snow begins to fall. Some will even hang on to their lifeless leaves throughout the winter and they will drop in the spring, but one thing is for sure. Every single tree will sprout fresh leaf buds in the spring regarless of when they lost their leaves and the process will begin again with each individual tree, standing next to the others, blooming, thriving and changing at their own pace.

Oh the beautiful lessons in nature. I have been so frustrated for the past couple of weeks because it seems that my "leaves are not changing fast enough" and because I have felt that "I am caught in the deep dips of a current that I just can't seem to get out of. I have been impatient with my body and have continued to seek comparisons to figure out when I would get better. Today I realized that I need to just go with the current, 360's and all and enjoy this and every season of my life. The leaves will change and spring will inevitably come again. Its my blessing to chose joy in the journey.