It was a sunny day and I decided to take a drive and try to relax and refresh my mind. I needed some time to clear my mind of all the stress that I had been under. So driving along I seen a road that I had never traveled before, so I decided to take it and see where it would come out. If I started to feel uncomfortable or figure that I might get lost, I could always turn the car around and go back the same way that I had just come. As I traveled a little farther I suddenly realized that the scene was changing around me. Suddenly there were blue skies dotted with what looked like piles of cotton which turned out to really be clouds. The air was fresh and there were fields instead of houses and yet in a distance you could see houses and barns. I was no longer in the city, but was traveling on a country road.

I came up on a little area where I could pull off the road and get out and walk around and enjoy all that was around me. As I walked around I could hear the birds singing and I seen beautiful butterflies in flight. There were wild flowers that were waving as a slight breeze stirred up and it was as if the breeze was playing with the flowers. Ocassionally I could hear the buzz of a bee, but I went unharmed from that bee. Off in the distance I could hear a dog barking and the sound of children voices that were happy. I finally was able to see what I was hearing and the children and the dog we running around in the fields of clover and were playing some type of a game and from what I could tell they were about equal as neither the children nor the dog was winning. A smile crossed my lips and as I watched I was transported back in time in my mind to the days when I too did what these children were doing. A time when life was so simple and yet there was always a lot of hard working going on around us. Living on a farm there were always chores to do and little free time to spend doing silly things. Unlike today where there are several hundred channels on TV we had two. Ah yes, these children will probably never know what it means to have life any other way than what they are experiencing right now.

I got back into my car and was driving a little farther and I came upon an area that was so beautiful that words cannot fully describe what my eyes were seeing. I stopped my car so that I could look around and take in all this beauty. The pine trees in all their grandour were very tall and the branches were just beautiful with long pine needles on them and each of the branches reaching upwards. There sitting on one of the branches was a bright red cardinal so plump and unaware of my presence. I continued to watch the cardinal as it simply amazed me that I could get this close and yet the cardinal seemed so unaware that I was even there. As I walked even closer, suddenly the cardinal took flight into the air and I continued to watch it as it flew away. There was no way that I was going to do any harm to the cardinal, but then he didn't know that.

Next I seen a squirrel that was scurrying around trying to entertain me I think. I stood still just to see if the squirrel would be brave enough to come closer to me. It was if the squirrel knew that I wouldn't hurt it, but it still didn't trust me and would only come a little closer, but still out of reach for me. I tried to tell the squirrel that I wouldn't hurt it and as I was talking with it the squirrel stood on his back legs and holding the nut that it had found in this front legs. The squirrel to started chattering away to me and then it tossed the nut toward me and it scurried off and climbed a tree. I followed its every move with my eyes and as it climbed higher and higher it came to a branch and went out on it and stopped and looked down toward where I was. The look that I got from the squirrel was as if it was trying to tell me that I couldn't possibly touch it now. I reached down and picked up the nut and held it up in the air and looking up at the squirrel I said, "Thank You brother squirrel for the food." The squirrel then scurried off to other branches and I turned to walk back to my car, but was stopped in my tracks.

There about 300 yards ahead of me was a mother deer and her baby. I didn't want to scare them aways so I remained still for a while and just enjoyed watching them as they wandered around eating the different vegitation. I wished that I had brought my camera with me, but as usual I was in a hurry to just get out of the office that I left it in one of the drawers. I knew that I needed to get going as it would soon be dark and I didn't want to be out in unfamiliar territory after dark. So as much as I hated to disturb the deer and baby I started walk back to my car and they quickly ran off in the opposite direction.

The drive back into the city was really uneventful, but the different memories of the day came flooding back. I knew then that I indeed did get a chance to refresh my body, my mind and my soul. Such beauty is available everyday and we are too busy in our daily living to take advantage of it. Years ago they used to say to stop and smell the roses. The same advice could be given today along with to take some time and enjoy life and the beauty that is around you. Remember to stop and smell the flowers and pick a few while you are at it.

(Author: Inez Champagne
April 30, 2010)