Being Still

I am taking in all of the fall colors as much as possible. I realized recently that it was my dad who showed me how to really observe this beauty that is all around me. When I was a child I would deer hunt with him and doing so I would spend the majority of those days sitting quietly in nature by myself. I never went hunting because I enjoyed killing animals. I went hunting because there were the "remember when" stories dad and I could recall together later on and then laugh until we cried. I also enjoyed being still in nature, to hear the first chirp of the birds that woke up before my eyes noticed that darkness had begun to lift, to watch the activity of the animals build throughout the afternoon until a calm slowly overtook the woods as the sun began to set. I think my dad really enjoyed that part of hunting too. I am grateful to my dad for showing me how much fun it can be to be still in nature, and just how beautiful it all is.