Today marks the first day in a long time that I have watched the sun rise from my window pane. Experience nature all around me by the trees as they shake and shimmy in the gentle breeze. It is in these times that I am thankful to be alive, to have life and attempt to live it to the full.
In this season of reflection, I am reminded of my summers in North Carolina. It was always so much to do, but the pace of doing it was different. My brother, cousin and I were locked outside with a pitcher of ice water married with plastic cups as the adults got a break from us -- the noise makers.
On the days in which no one would be home, I went to work with grandma, the librarian and often times the library became my summer home. It was a space where you had to be quiet, books were everywhere, and maybe, just maybe, grandma was planting seeds for me. The seeds of learning through books where you can go anywhere, be anyone, and most importantly, be so much.
And how could I forget the apple tree tucked in the back corner of the yard. Below it, was a sandbox that granddaddy built for us to play in. We used to climb the tree to see how high we could get, a competition of sorts. Bragging rights were our reward. And the sandbox, became a place that would catch us when we fell. We would even be allowed to pick apples off the tree for the apple pie grandma would make for dessert at times.
In the midst of the breeze, the library and the apple tree, God is and was there allowing us to breathe, be at peace and experience life. In these moments, we can live again. So breathe and live life with reflections of the past that can charge and change your future. Breathe and take a time out.
