Since we lost our big willow tree that used to stand guardian by the pond I have been working on reconciling myself to the treeless (well it’s not technically treeless, but missing a very important wise old willow tree) view of the pond behind our house.
I miss the graceful arch of the willow tree’s branch over the pond and the way that the huge tree framed my view of the pond. I miss the birds and squirrels that used to visit and play in and around the tree and the ducks that swam in and out of view behind the tree.
But change happens regardless of how I feel about it.
As time goes by I am seeing with new eyes.
“After all, the true seeing is within.”
― George Eliot, Middlemarch
I am finding things to appreciate about the view as it is now.
There is something intriguing about our new wide open view of the pond. At different times during the day the changing light on the pond calls me to look. Instead of focusing on what isn’t there I focus on what is—color, light, pattern—always shifting and changing, never the same.
The morning light just before and after sunrise is my favorite light. Right now with the golden autumn hues, the pond looks magical in the morning light.
I am enjoying looking at the park area beyond the pond which I can see so much better now than when the willow tree was still alive. The park hillside is green and open with trees at the top. It’s not the view we had before, but it’s not better or worse, it’s just different.
Whenever I start feeling like complaining about the changes in our yard I remind myself that the only constant in life is change. There is a constant cycle of life just as the seasons cycle from spring to summer to autumn to winter.
Each autumn I wish that autumn could last and last, winter visit us for about a week, and then for spring to reappear in all it’s glory. But, living in Minnesota, that isn’t how the seasons go. Winter lasts a long time in Minnesota. I am working on embracing it, but it’s a work in progress.
Learning to embrace what is instead of clinging to what was helps open me to joy in the present moment, the only moment there is.
What are you clinging to or unable to let go of?
May you walk in beauty.
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