Remember the truth that is being whispered in the peaceful stillness.
Listen to the birds rejoice as they glide through the sky, being bathed with sunlight.
Join the tree branches in their swaying dance, praising their creator.
Embrace the wind’s gentle caress as it rolls over your cheeks and swirls your hair.
Welcome the harmony that beckons you to cast your burdens in the stream, where their silt will sink with the heaviness, reviving your spirit anew.
The pain will return, tis the flawed human cycle.
But may you seek solace in nature to nurture your soul again, to ease the ache of life, that reminds us that we are alive.
—Heather Straszheim Johnson, written at Prairiewoods’ Day of Renewal
image of bench at Dry Creek by Angie Pierce Jennings