After the kids left for school I bundled up and put on my hiking boots and was quickly greeted with a wagging tail and howling. My four-legged companion Willow Pup and I geared up for a muddy hike in the hills of Oakland California. It was our first outing for the year. I love this particular hike. It is a four-mile loop and to my surprise, the creek that is usually bone dry was full and water! Willow was so happy to wade and climb on the rocks. I can't remember the last time I saw so much water in the creek. I am so happy about the abundance of rain we have been having. I have never found rain to be a problem... in fact, I find it refreshing and calming. I found myself in awe of my surroundings that I ended up filming and made a small video for you. However, to my surprise, I came across a bench at the end of our hike that I have sat and walked by many times and never noticed the plack that lives on it. It was a quote by the Poet Wendell Berry and it read... "I come into the Peace of Wild Things."...These words struck deep inside of me and when I returned home I looked up the full poem and today I wanted not only to share the free magic that nature provides but also the wise words of Wendell Berry.
The Peace of Wild Things
Written and read by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
May you find time in nature dear ones... May your heart and mind be less heavy... May you continue to be inspired in the year 2022.
Hugs,
The Paper Boat Den
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