I love walking in the woods mindfully to see what catches my attention. Without question, I always get a lesson when I pause long enough to listen. One particularly peaceful day, I found myself walking along the water’s edge of the mountain brook I caretake on this land I live on. There is a moss-lined granite chute that draws me in every time. Autumn’s leaves find their way into the brook and were adhered underwater to the granite bed even though the current was very strong over the top of the leaves. There they were, all these leaves lined up next to each other with the crystal clear water passing over them possessing all the stillness and sense of place imaginable in the face of the forces pulling on them to keep moving downstream. I was so taken… moss gently holding the fallen leaves anchored while water rushes over each leaf. Amazing.

At the bottom of the chute lies a pool of water, spinning and turning, creating its own whirlpool. I placed a small branch in the channel upstream and watched intently. The twig sped down the chute and dropped into the pool. As long as the twig remained on the water’s surface, it carried on in circles, chasing its own tail. Adding more sticks to the flow, it soon became a tangled mess of confusion, branches bumping, colliding, even getting stuck on top of each other, creating a haphazard dam. Alas, the next introduced twig found its way beneath the whirlpool’s surface, diving deep into the cold, dark water. I watched it, suspending in a surreal stillness in the pool’s center amidst the sound and flow of rushing water. It’s as if it was gathering energy and momentum for the journey, perspective and direction. Meanwhile, superficial mayhem prevailed with the tangled sticks overhead frantically trying to find their own space, their flow in the scheme of bounding energy.

It became clear to me that the way of it is to go deep to find the stillness, the direction. In that quiet place comes what is next, just the next step and then the flow will guide the way to the next resting place. Like a good friend of mine says, "go within or go without." Circumstances do not need to make or break my happiness, my home. It is the internal workings that begin to open the gateway towards the freedom that water and sense of place teaches. Looking for solutions, plans, direction with the logical mind keeps me at the surface; of what little I think I know. Allowing the guidance to come, to "live me" is another way that feels much more connected, whole and rich.

In my experience, I am beginning to see just how simple life can be. Doing what is next, that is enough. What’s next? Whatever I hear the voice saying. Sometimes it says walk, or sit, or call, or email that one. Sometimes it says do the laundry now. Do the dishes. I am catching on to the peace available now if I listen. It feels like something bigger is doing me, living me. It’s here for all of us. Listening and following the voice feels kinder and easier than the alternative. Happiness can be this simple. I am testing it!

Listening deeply to the rust colored leaves resting quietly in the surge, witnessing the branch diving deeply to find stillness and then freedom affirms the practice. I begin again always.

Jen Deraspe, owner of Nurture Through Nature, is a holistic retreat facilitator and practitioner of The Work of Byron Katie. She lives off the grid on Pleasant Mountain in Denmark, Maine. www.ntnreats.com, (207) 452-2929.