Shivering Leaves

Our air conditioners are drying on the front porch.  Their corresponding windows, vacant and screenless, exhibit a surprising clarity on this drizzly day.  Brown- and yellow-tinged leaves shiver on their gray branches, whose lichen-kissed bark drips droplets along with the quilt of rainclouds overhead.  Beside a drenched brown log and autumn-touched bush, a bench invites me to sit and contemplate life - a tempting offer if it were not quite so wet.

Just a few days ago, dry dust whirled here and there as the sun baked everything in sight.  Now, pools of water stand in low-lying areas and the air itself seems to sigh refreshingly.  Such extremes in so short a time!  It is commonplace for our life, too, and I hazard to say for yours as well, my friend.

So, take a moment and imagine yourself somewhere that rejuvenates you.  Close your eyes if you have to or take a deep breath and let the tension in your shoulders slip away.  Perhaps we're on a rocky ledge overlooking rolls of mountains and a little lake nestled among the vales.  The first sunrays shoot up in the horizon and reflect across the lake's surface.  Or perhaps we're watching waves splash white foam on the beach.  Water, smooth as silk, touches our toes and then quickly recedes.  Or perhaps we're on a Greek island, licking tiramisu icecream in a cone and clutching a crinkly brown bag of meaty pistachios for the ferry ride back to the mainland where we'll roam through winding streets and savor the delight of stumbling upon ancient remains sprinkled about Athens.  Or where would you be?  What imagining restores your soul when you are tired or lonely or in need of a break?