Love In The Time of Corona: Going Into the Out

I have been feeling anxious lately, and for good measure, all things considered, so in addition to the occasional evening walk with the whole clan, I braved the cold morning on Saturday and took my sweet big adventurer and the little bear, bundled up and with all the needed tools, on a greenbelt “exploration.”

It’s often true that I go from dawn to dusk without truly enjoying what our community offers us, but during this time of unhurried pace, I’ve allowed my eyes to drink in the lime green stillness of the leaves, the spectrum of colors in budding wildflowers, the grain in each tree’s bark. While we strolled down the beaten path, careful to avoid a close proximity to our neighborhood brethren, my child began to use her binoculars, spotting little moments that we would otherwise pass by.

I am not that far removed from a time in my life where everything sprouting gave me a secret thrill. I can honestly say that the first sign of springtime and the slow dance of leaves spiraling downward in fall give me that same feeling of joy. My daughter began squealing when she spotted butterflies, and a sweet married pair of cardinals who were foraging for breakfast. There was no noise of cars, or anyone about, and for a moment, I forgot that we were in an urban setting and not the true, untouched woods. I can see why Emerson and Thoreau preferred the stillness of the flora that met them as an old friend in the serenity that lay around Walden Pond.

Adopt the pace of nature—her secret is patience.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

These were some of the images I was requested to take, National Geographic style.

At first, I denied my girl her request to capture these fragile moments, because I was coming down with a sinus infection and the cold began to bother me, but then I remembered how much I have always loved photography, and even though my good Nikon camera was not with me, I still enjoyed trying to be artistic with my frame shots. Slowing down to savor the surroundings was just the needed medicine to brighten my gloomy spirits.

My hope for you, dear ones, is that you can pause in your distress and take that type of walk.

Find the stillness amid the chaos of the world beyond your door. I did, and I am all the better for it.

Happy trails.

~Kindred Spirit~

**originally 3.22.20; edited 3.25.20**