The Forest.  This is where I go to listen.  Listen to the leaves rustling in the wind.  I feel the warm air hitting my face.   It feels so free. I smell the scents of the forest.  A strange thing to love the smell of…..the leaves, the moss, the trees, the nearby stream, the air.  Brings back a state of childhood when the world was a simpler time.

The forest is where I go to clear my mind, and my heart.  Clear my heart of all the things I feel anger towards.  Clear my mind of the fog of everyday life. When I go into the forest, I imagine a whole new place, a whole new way of life. A simpler life.  A life of content and freedom. A life that has no stress. A place where there is no fighting, no sadness, no anger, no hate. Just happiness. Just freedom.

I go to the forest alone and with my dogs.  They are the perfect companion. No talking needed. They just go along with me just being happy to be outside and taking in all the sights and sounds. Smelling all the smells, chasing squirrels who like to tease them and then run up a tree just enough so my dogs cannot reach them. You can almost see the teasing smile on the squirrel’s little face – the feeling of accomplishment that he got just out of the dog’s reach.  Then he disappears out of sight and my dogs carry on about their trek.

I see all the old trees that have fallen, laying on top of other trees and stumps. Some of them brought down by strong winds. Others by wild animals. You can see some of the trunks rotting away, but if you look closely, you can see that these trunks are homes to other creatures in the forest.

As a child, the forest seems so huge.  As an adult, it still feels the same. But still so peaceful and free.  I am still amazed every time I go at how beautiful nature truly is.  It is one part of my life that is untouched, stress free.

Serene