Peace

Nothing disturbs the silence of a snow shrouded forest in the early hours of a winter morning after a the thick blanket was laid down by the blizzard that raged the night before. Every fern is sculpted, the thin branches of maples and alder guilded in shining powder, the wide branches of douglas fir and the imposing cones of cedars weighed down by drifts of crystals. As the day warms, the glittering suessian wonderland will collapse, raining down avalanches of powder that will catch the light like diamonds and dance to Earth. For now, though, it is as if time has stopped, and not a breath of wind disturbs the perfect quiet of the woods.

Rivers are another place to revel in the silence that can only be found in the noises of nature. A river can drown out the roar of traffic, the buzz of aircraft, and the generally unpleasant white noise that humanity generates wherever it goes. Every pebble in the river bed has its own unique tune that becomes an orchestral masterpiece of impossible complexity and near infinite duration. It is a wonder that such a tumultuous din can enhance the silence of nature - filling it with depth and texture and drowning the senses in its beauty.

The snow also brings a hush to the wide open spaces of the farms and marsh lands. The clangs and bangs of early morning chores do not carry far, but are trapped and smothered by the snow. All sound must fight its way through the powder, only to be gobbled up by the drifts and eddies. The snow is a hungry creature, and it feasts on the feeble mumbling of the world.


 When the snow melts and the mists rise, the cloak of silence will lift. Sound and color will return, bringing with them the clash and bustle of the outside world. I will put off the inevitable return to the nerve jangling noise of life and stand wrapped in a bubble of time and space as long as I can, feeling deep in my soul the immutable peace of winter.