The Gift

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I took a walk today through the woods.3

The ground soft beneath my feet, still nestled in cold wet leaves, sprinkled with pine needles.Absorbing each foot step taken; I sank further into nature as the smell of a passing storm enlightens my senses.4

Just ahead, is an oak tree, enormously tall, round, standing majestically alone among the bushy evergreens.
My eyes survey to the tree top endlessly reaching to the sky. I hear the voices of the woods come alive within me.
The clouds are moving swiftly as if they have a place to go, the sun trying desperately to shine its warmth upon this scented view.
Nature engulfs me. I find myself lost in solitude, standing still in front of this oak; I could not help but touch her.
To reach out, to feel the roughness of her bark, the softness of her moss and the strength she has to withstand the seasons of life.5

Her buds wrapped tightly, clutching life upon her arms, her roots spread wide, seeking out new adventure of nourishment.
There are homes constructed; offering shelter among her limbs and within the soul of her body. She procures with life, beaming, surviving.
I take my rest against her, leaning easily as not to interrupt her presence. I feel her force, stirring, nurturing my spirit.
A sigh releases. A feeling of peace surrounds my mind and body. For in this moment, I too feel as if she is nestling me within her sanctity, sharing our loneliness as we bask in this moment. 6

I lift my head once again, to gaze upon her delight only to find she has given to me what I didn't know I had lost.
Strength7

As I lean forward to walk away, I turned around to feel her once more. Lifting my eyes upon her tree tops swaying gently in rhythm to the wind, my admiration of her strength, of her beauty, has unknowingly fed, my emptiness.8

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