Begin to calm your body.
Start by closing your eyes.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose and let it out through your mouth on a sigh.
Let's do that again.
In through your nose,
Out through your mouth.
It feels so good to breathe.
Your body is beginning to feel still and heavy.
Now let's imagine.
Imagine you are on a forest trail in the morning.
Powdery,
White snow blankets the ground and the trees.
The snow is falling from the big,
Gray sky above.
You are the only person you see,
And from the looks of it,
No one but you has been on this trail this morning.
The snow is completely undisturbed.
No footprints,
No movement.
There is something about knowing you are the first person to have stepped foot into a place that makes you feel exhilarated.
You take a deep breath in through your nose.
The cold,
Moist air fills your lungs,
Cleaning and refreshing your body.
As you breathe out through your mouth,
Your heart feels calm.
You smile and begin your walk.
Even though you have been on this trail dozens of times,
Everything looks different in the snow.
The air feels wet and cold,
But surprisingly,
Your body feels warm,
Cushioned by layers of thick clothing.
Off in the distance,
You smell the warm smoke from someone's fireplace.
Silence is all around you,
Except for the chirping birds singing delicately from the rooftops,
The snow tapping and tingling as it lands on your shoulders,
And the powdery white snow scrunching and squeaking beneath your boots.
Then,
You hear a different sound.
Delicate footsteps pouncing,
Dancing.
Whatever is making this noise seems to be having fun.
To your left,
You see several small footprints.
What could have made these prints?
In a moment of pure curiosity,
You decide to follow them.
And then,
Through the trees,
You see them,
Orange and brown flicks of movement.
Foxes!
One,
Two,
Three,
Four of them.
Two are big,
And two are small.
Against the white snow,
The fox's orange fur mimics fire,
Flickering in a fireplace as they dance and jump and frolic around.
You pause,
Silently watching.
Watching them feels magical,
Like a combination of incredible peace and overwhelming joy.
What a gift to be standing outside in the snow,
Watching these sweet foxes playing.
One of the babies stops and looks at you.
His sweet little fuzzy head cocked to one side,
As though he is wondering if you'd be a good playmate.
Then he turns around and runs back towards a pile of snow,
Leaps up,
And whoosh!
The snow puffs up all around him.
His family looks over,
Pauses for a moment.
Maybe wondering where the kit went,
And leaps into the snow pile after him.
At this,
You laugh,
Your heart so full of joy and appreciation for this beautiful scene.
A moment later,
The fox family emerges from the snow,
Shakes off,
And dances away just as fast as they appeared.
You continue on your walk,
The snow crunching beneath your feet.
Then,
A noise.
You pause to hear it better.
The sound is staccato,
But round,
And seems to fill up the forest around you.
It's coming from above you,
High in the trees.
You look up and notice a big,
Gaping hole in a huge tree in the forest.
The tree appears to have been growing for hundreds of years,
Its branches extending so far into the sky,
You have to squint to see them.
Peeking out of the hole,
You see something.
A hawk?
A dove?
No,
No,
Now you understand.
It's an owl,
A great barred owl,
To be exact.
Her round,
Feathery face is just visible inside the hole of the tree.
Her big,
Brown eyes peering down at you,
Almost completely still,
Except for a blink.
Here,
And a blink there.
Oh,
Please,
Sing again,
Beautiful owl,
You think.
What feels like a year later,
She once again makes her call.
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
You smile,
Laughing at the silly phrase you hear her singing.
All of the forest creatures have fallen silent,
As if stopping,
Like you,
To enjoy this majestic sound.
The owl hops onto the edge of a branch,
Scuttles her wings,
Then swiftly soars away.
Graceful.
Silent.
You smile once again,
Grateful for yet another special moment on this snowy forest walk.
As you begin again to walk,
You notice the songbirds have continued their chirping and tweeting from the treetops.
Off in the distance,
You can hear a woodpecker knock-knock-knocking against a tree.
The snow continues to tingle on your jacket,
And the snow crunches beneath your feet.
Soon,
You come upon a stream.
Despite the cold,
The water is running,
Peacefully,
Free.
Hanging near the water are icicles,
Long and pointed and clear.
As the cold water rushes underneath the icicles,
It causes them to clink and crackle,
Delicately,
Like wind chimes.
The icicles and running stream are just another instrument within this forest's orchestra on this snowy day.
After a few more moments of walking,
You have reached the end of the trail.
You stand and listen,
Feeling peaceful and warm.
You take a deep breath in through your nose,
And out through your mouth.
You are here,
In this moment,
Relaxed and grateful.
Take these feelings of peace and gratitude with you throughout your day,
And know that you are loved.
