As I walk through the trees on this beautiful sunny day everything looks perfect. The sun is shining through the trees, there is a light dusting of snow, the path is clear with very little ice, the temperature is comfortable and there is very little wind.
Everything appears to be just right and yet I find myself a little disappointed. You see in the summer this path feels like a journey into another world. The leaves create a thick canopy overhead so that even on the sunniest days only an ethereal, green tinged light shines through. The foliage is thick and spills out on the path sometimes obscuring your way and taking you in unexpected directions as the greenery shifts throughout the season. The whole bush is alive with the bustling of animals and insects. Everything feels like it is full of purpose.
In the summer, this section of trees feels like a magical oasis made just for you. In the winter it all feels a bit flat and I can’t help noticing the cars driving down the road that is at the edge of the tree line and I find myself distracted by the fact that you can see people on the path even if they are a few kilometers away.
I feel let down by this path that in the summer is one of my favourite places to explore (despite the inevitable mosquito bites) but the reality is that there is nothing wrong with this path in the winter. It is simply different. It is in a state of rest – preparing for a new year. It is my expectations that have caused me to be disappointed.
Life constantly changes around us. If we try to hold on too tightly to ideas of what something should be, we miss out on the opportunity to enjoy it for what it is.
When I returned to walk this path, letting go of my expectations, I realized there was beauty all around me – in the way the melting snow dripped off the trees creating patterns on the ground, in the footsteps that walked before creating a path to follow, in the openness of the space that allowed me to see how all the paths are connected. By letting go of my expectations and being fully present I was finally able to let go of how I thought the path should be and appreciated it for what it was.