Breathing Deep and Letting Go: A Path to Nocturnal Tranquility

Not all of us have had that experience of being out in the woods or even near them , either in a rusted cabin or up in the mountains for a weekend to get away , or even living on the edge of a national park somewhere . There's actually very few of us that can say they are able to have that opportunity .

But if you had the chance and stepped outside one dark night , would it be long enough to listen ? Dark enough to maybe even see one of more than 6,000 satellites rolling by ? Even if you can't really hear them , you might hear the oh my , there it is in your own breath , as many of them are visible to the naked eye .

Could the sound of the forest calm you ? Could you hear yourself breathe ? Can you sit for a while on a bench or an old wicker chair and really listen ? Try it sometime . Stay up late or even appreciate the fact that it gets darker so much earlier in the fall and the winter months .

In some places , dark comes upon us in the autumn , as early as 5 or 6 in the evening .

Perhaps a screech owl or a western white , depending on where you are , will call you Leaves rustling either hanging on tenuously to the branches above during a shift in the wind or being shoved aside by four or five white-tailed deer and their young looking for acorns or dried berries on the ground , depending on the season .

Maybe you might hear common loons chatting while settling somewhere for a night or two during their migration south , and that rascally raccoon and their two or three little ones out for the night for scraps of delights . Listening to the forest fall asleep doesn't have to be fearful . It can be rejuvenating , refreshing , restful , calming .

Perhaps , like so many of us , you're in the city , the suburbs , a busy neighborhood , a noisy cul-de-sac or just a block or so away from a busy intersection or even a highway . I still encourage you to try it . Get bowed in the backyard or maybe your patio or balcony , or just Sit next to an open window .

Give it a try , take in the night and acknowledge the evening traffic of those still working , trying to get home late after a long , hard day picking up groceries or kids from their evening soccer practice , listening for that dog two blocks away saying he's ready to come back inside for the night , like he does every night , barking endlessly , but actually it was

only a minute or so . And then there's a late night ambulance siren oh , please , let them be alright . Wherever it's headed , you pray silently . Can the night release the day away and all its busyness , all its noise , all its errands and chores ?

Would it make you pause , stop and absorb what is there and allow you time to take a long , deep breath , really , really deeply , over and over again . One can certainly try it .

Sometimes is so lovely listening for all the sounds of your world beginning to fall asleep , the restless quiet , the refrigerator humming , the lights being switched off on the wall one last time , or the pull chain on the old living room lamp , or the forest and the woods and its noises , the city trying to compose itself , catch its breath and quiet down and

rejuvenate , refresh and find calm . All these sounds denied to so many . So maybe even tonight or some night soon , grab an old sweater or even a blanket pause , stop and listen and try to calm yourself in the quiet around you For the world around us is trying so desperately to calm down as well . May it be so Blessed be .