Serenity Secrets #3
With my energy and spiritual reserves running low, I knew that some time on one of my favorite trails would refill my tank. Last week, my feet finally hit the trail around Lake Placid at Chickasaw State Park near Henderson, Tennessee.
At about 5:55 a.m., no one was stirring. Refreshing, cool moisture hung in the air and fed my lungs. A light morning mist hovered and stirred just above the surface of the lake with early rays of light illuminating its mystical movement. As I turned deeper into the woods, I experienced a rush of olfactory delight from a symphony of smells including wet moss, green leaves, and rich soil.
I closed my eyes…and relaxed….and…
Ran smack into a spider web.
In fact, I hit at least 10-15 spider webs during the course of this hike. Always followed by a quick shoulder brushing to ensure that the web’s architect had not hitched a ride on me! This, of course, was followed by several attempts to de-stickify the web from my skin.
If this weren’t enough, the mayflies received word that breakfast was walking through the woods. So, about halfway through my hike, I began swatting and smashing these persistently pesky insects.
And so it is. There are problems in paradise and blemishes on even the most beautiful mornings. I think this is called reality.
But, the mayflies and spider webs did not ruin my hike. In fact, I came back the next morning and even with these minor irritants, the overwhelming tone of my experience was refreshing.
Realistically, the first hiker through the woods in the morning will knock down the spider webs for those who follow later in the day. To be sure, mayflies will attack at certain times of the year. But it is also realistic to expect beauty, meditations on morning mist, delightful smells, unmatched scenery, and the opportunity for spiritual renewal.
Worth Repeating
Silence is refreshment for the soul.
-Wynona Judd
