The backyard of my family’s home sloped gently to the banks of Ellicott Creek, a meandering  stream that eventually flowed into the Niagara River. It was a quiet sort of stream, attracting an occasional turtle, people in canoes, and people like me who came to sit beneath the old weeping willow trees growing along its banks. The willow branches swept the ground, trailed in the water.

To sit under one of these willow trees felt serene and private, like being in a secluded room. It was a place to think, a place to read. To write. I still go there, in my mind, for a peaceful moment. For a brief time, stress and worries can be put on hold,  perhaps a problem solved, an idea sparked.

When I go there, I can smell the clean country air, hear the oh so gentle swish of water, feel the heat of a summer’s afternoon. I hear the quiet, sense the tranquil slowness of life. Nature, not walls and brick and mortar, surrounds me. I am free. In that brief escape, I rejuvenate.

Do you have a special retreat, a place you can visualize in your mind? Your own happy place that brings you peace?  Is it the beach? The mountains? The desert? A garden? A park? Under the willow trees? Beneath a palm tree? It’s wonderful to bring that picture to your mind for just a moment and enjoy the serenity. To see the beauty and commune with yourself.

Here’s to our quiet, stolen moments, briefly visualized, before we rejoin the real world once again. This excerpt from Navajo Night Chant seems to fit.

Happily may I walk
Being as it used to be long ago, may I walk
May it be beautiful before me
May it be beautiful behind me
May it be beautiful below me
May it be beautiful above me
May it be beautiful all around me
In beauty it is finished.
In beauty it is finished.

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/treaty_greenville/pages/night_chant.html