Walk in England

Day 198

During the time that I lived in England I was introduced by my best friend to some of my, now favorite, quotes- these brilliant thoughts of hers that I decided to document and use on a regular basis. On a particularly foggy, chilly Autumn day we drove into the country to have dinner with an American family that we had become friends with. To get there you had to drive down this tiny little dirt road that was blanketed by dense deciduous trees, with their dandelion, fire, and pumpkin colored leaves falling like feathers in the dense air. Once we got there it was a while before dinner so Autum and I took a walk. Suddenly we realized we weren't alone when we were confronted by something straight out of a nursery book about farms. It was a huge, black and white cow. My initial reaction was fear- the animal stood as tall as me and I'm almost 6 feet. But Autum walked right up to it and began petting it like it was a barn cat. So I followed her and I will never forget how soft this animal was, and gentle. A cow might not seem so incredible but I had never been in an environment before this where cows could roam so freely, where I could roam so freely for that matter. Later during our walk we stopped on a bridge that looked over a quiet, partially frozen river. By this point the fog was thick and we were beginning to see our breath and everything was so still. It truly looked like I had stepped out of my life and into something by Currier and Ives- a postcard used to advertise the beauty of this place. One of my favorite things to do is ask people what they're thinking. I probably ask that very question 10 times a day every day and so it only seemed natural for me to ask Autum what she was thinking during such a breathtaking moment. She responded with what has become one of my favorite lines- "I'm not really thinking, just feeling."
How much happier would I be if I could apply that more often to my life? How much beauty am I missing because I'm busy obsessing, over analysing, over complicating? Well today I chose to abandon my thoughts and give way to my feelings.

And thankfully- they were mostly warm and fuzzy.

Janet