What I Learned from Nature

Recently, my wife, dog Maude and I were in the woods near Townsend, Wisconsin and I came to appreciate the ebb, flow and rhythm of nature in the late days of March.

Getting along is something that’s uncommon these days even as we should be rallying together to help keep our neighbors stay healthy and alive (not even death can soften stubborn hearts in 2020). I didn’t see discord, conspiracy theories, stupidity or pettiness in the woods last weekend because nature is for everyone, no matter how many law degrees you’ve earned, how many guns you own, if you’re more Toby Keith or Dixie Chick, if your kid is named Vestibule or Roy or how many American flags you fly in front of your house — zero or five? Doesn’t matter. Nature is for you and in accordance with you.

The trees in northern WI accepted the wind as truth as they bent unwittingly, taking in a different view of the world below them. They didn’t curse or dismiss the wind because they didn’t like it. Sometimes the wind just blows, and nature can’t deny it, lie about it or get around it. Nature is brutally honest and accepting in every beautiful and harsh way.

As the rain fell, last year’s leaves acknowledged it quietly. A peaceful pitter patter on the waning feet of snow and fallen oak décor made me okay with the wet, drab skies above us. The animals weren’t torqued about the changing season, the damp cold or falling rain. In between downed trees, a decaying forest and the ever-changing landscape, chipmunks, squirrels, deer and birds adjust, play, and all seem…