PASSION AND COMPOSURE

I am slowly becoming more skilled at working and resting at the same time, something I sometimes see in the outdoors. Trees, for instance, seem to be busily working when they sway in a strong wind, tossing their limbs in a spirited manner, but they also seem absolutely stress-free. Perhaps their secret is that they don’t resist, but simply settle back and let the wind do the work, allowing them to sway tirelessly for hours. I see a similar situation in the fall, when leaves offhandedly float to the ground in an effortless way and in a few days completely cover square miles of land with their colors.  This is an astonishing achievement, one that would take we humans a supreme effort, and yet the loose and untroubled leaves do it in an almost leisurely way. And of course there are snowfalls, perhaps the most restful of nature’s activities, with whole crews of snowflakes working in perfect peacefulness across the landscape. Within a few hours, a sovereign state of snow can set itself up across miles of fields and forests with a soft but irresistible sheet of white, and yet it does it in the quietest possible way. A snowstorm has a way of combining effort and restfulness, something I greatly admire. Perhaps my goal in life should be to live like snowflakes live, with both passion and composure.