We don’t have to travel to another country to find sights that fill us with wonder. It can happen right in our own backyard.
After we returned from France, I took a homecoming stroll through Freedom Park, which is less than three miles from our house. It's my favorite park in Charlotte and I’ve been visiting it regularly for the past 20 years. Despite its familiarity, I find something to inspire a fresh sense of appreciation each time I'm there.
On this particular day, I took a one-hour walk with my camera and paid close attention to the elegant displays of nature. When I saw this colorful leaf on a tree, I marveled at the intricate network of veins, which radiate out from the stem like spokes of a bicycle wheel. These veins are the lifeblood of the plant, moving nutrients to the outer reaches of the leaf.
Let’s pause and reflect on this miracle of life. Let’s think about what it means for us to be alive and to breathe the air around us on a crisp fall morning. And let’s reflect on how everything, everywhere shares a piece of the same life energy that runs through our own veins.
As the Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield observed, “… the same force that pushes grass through cracks in the sidewalk invigorates our own life.”
That’s a wonder that rivals any cathedral or basilica we saw in France. And the miracle is all around us, waiting for us to see it and contemplate it anytime we want.
In the next few posts, I’ll share more views and reflections inspired by my recent 60-minute walk through Freedom Park. Stay tuned.
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