Two nature trails lie ahead of me and I am forced to choose which path to walk.  Both of these paths seem dull, dreary and lifeless, so I choose the one to the left without much contemplation. The moment I step foot in the forest, the trees swallow me up and the cold trickles up my spine. The thick mass of gray clouds above doesn’t make the forest very inviting. The damp ground, full of dead leaves, doesn’t welcome me. My feet shy away at the dew-soaked leaves, and I’m disappointed that each step doesn’t result in a crunch. Even though there are some hints of yellow and orange in the trees, the sun isn’t shining to show their gleaming beauty, causing the leaves to appear subdued in darkness. About a quarter of the trees have already shed all of their leaves for the winter, seeming like there are lifeless sticks growing from the forest floor.

I try to grasp inspiration while walking, however all I notice is the dreariness of the forest. Every time I pass by a tree stump, I realize there once used to be life where there is none now. The wildlife is hiding from me. Once in awhile a bird will chirp, and it will make the damp forest brighten up for a bit, but after some time I begin to notice the cold creeping back into my fingers. No matter how hard I try to find something with meaning, a bleak feeling sets in. After just a few short minutes, I no longer enjoy the outdoors. I’m walking through the forest only going through the motions, oblivious to what truly matters.

The perished forest simply doesn’t inspire me. 

Ten minutes of walking tire me out. I decide to sit down on my blanket next to the lake I discovered and relax, mostly because if I continue on I would follow the circular path outside the forest. I’m not giving up yet. Just now I realize I’ve hit the best part. This is the first real beauty I’ve seen all morning. The smooth glass lake reflects the multitude of colorful trees surrounding it. The lake is a mirror of shoreline. It is at this moment that the sun decides to show its face for the first time this morning. It not only warms my heart, but also my shivering body. I now have the time to sit back, relax, and reflect on the beauty of nature.

The loons call in the distance. I notice many colors of the dying leaves, and suddenly I don’t interpret the trees as dying. They are alive and full with spirit, living for next spring when they can start a new life all over again. This is beauty. Why did I have to discover this at the end of my journey?

I’m learning the path to life is long, and I’m questioning why the beauty only sinks in at the end. Is this why I go to church, look around and only see the backs of gray and white heads? Are people really that naive to finally crave that purposeful meaning of life only when they’re nearing the end? Or is it because they’ve been walking their entire life without God and finally need the closure that they will not be isolated once they die? My only conclusion is that people are too busy with their everyday lives to take a moment to reflect. High school and college age students are busy studying, getting involved, and working. Later in life, careers take up the majority of hours in the week, and families need to be taken care of. These busy schedules continue until a person decides to retire. Most retired people have the freedom to do the things they’ve always wanted to do: travel the world, go to church, volunteer, write a book, and so on. They now have the free time to reflect on life and notice the true beauty. It’s depressing this is the way society is. It would be ideal to enjoy life and not live to work. Working to live is necessary, but it shouldn’t take up so much time.

I know I sometimes go through the motions of life. If I can only get through this tough week of school I’ll be satisfied. Weeks and weeks go by and I’m awaiting graduation like a puppy awaits a treat after learning a new trick. I will not be satisfied after high school. I will not be satisfied until I graduate college. I will not be satisfied until I start a family. I will not be satisfied until I pay off my debt and retire. Will it be too late after that? Too late to make something of myself? My alarm clock goes off every morning at 6:45 AM. I get ready for school, get through the day, come home, go to work, do homework until I fall asleep. This cycle repeats itself until the weekend. I wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, and all of my life for happiness.

My whole walk in the woods was unintersting. The only part that was worth the walk was the the stunning scenery at the end. Maybe if I stopped going through the motions in life and actually took a second to look around, then I could enjoy the beauty of the moment and have no desire to look ahead with anxiety. In order to stay sane, I need to start setting aside time for myself. I find myself, with my busy schedule, not making adequate time for family and friends. I need to live and do well in school, but I also need to enjoy life. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be one of those old churchgoers amazed at how fast my life flew by.

A cool breeze strong enough to find a way through my layered clothing brings me back to reality. The trees peer down at me, judging the complexity of my life. I begin to conclude that  if we as society lived the way the trees live, day by day, season by season, then we would come to understand the beauty of every moment in every day. A tree’s life is simple. The only job a tree has is to grow and survive. Trees have simple jobs like producing carbon dioxide and housing bird nests, but nothing too complicated. Trees live day to day. You never see a tree preparing shedding its leaves in the summer. They prepare for each season accordingly, without living in the past or future.

The colorful maples line up across the lake appear as if they stretch out for eternity. I finally understand I’m supposed to be stretching out the moment. Everybody has one thing in common: they only have 24 hours in a day. It’s how you spend those precious moments that make a difference. I’m enjoying the beauty of the moment as I peer up at the sky and map the individual paths of orange and red leaves floating their way to the ground.