Margaret Cheasebro

Cottonwood leaves from my neighbor's graceful, gorgeous tree are starting to blanket my lawn. I know that means freezing weather is soon to follow.

The leaf patterns on my lawn are intriguing. I could look at the leaves and think about the work it will take to remove them. But it's not a huge task. When I run my lawnmower one last time over the grass, it will pick up 90 percent of the leaves. The remaining 10 percent don't take that long to bag.

Instead of worrying about leaf pickup tasks, I find myself focusing on the leaves and the way they decorate my lawn. When I do that, something interesting happens. I am so focused on appreciating the beauty of the leaves that I forget everything else. It becomes a kind of meditation, a moment when the world fades away as I rivet my attention on the artistry of the leaves.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by more work to do, I find myself at peace. The concerns about everything else in my life melt away. Those short moments in time are incredibly restful. It's easy to forget to take a little time to appreciate the beauty in simple things around us. The rewards of filling our awareness with the wonder of the moment are immense.

One of the things I enjoy is spending time in my front and back yards being around the trees. I don't have many trees, just a few spruce and juniper trees. The neighbor's elm would like to add some elm trees to my yard, but that's not going to happen.

One of the many good things about my dog is that she likes to eat baby elms. When I find an elm sprout, I pull it up, and my dog dives into it like it's a gourmet meal.

Trees have a calming effect on me. That calmness makes me want to spend more time outside with them. Other people tell me they like to be around trees for the same reason.

There's a trend on TikTok lately in which people take pictures of themselves standing by a tree. They ask the tree to touch their shoulder, and they have the most amazed looks on their faces when they say the tree actually did move one of its branches and tap them on the shoulder.

I tried that once, and nothing happened. But it's an intriguing idea to think that a tree might actually hear and understand what we ask it to do.

For me, the peace of mind I get while being near trees and the inspiring thoughts that sometimes come when I'm calm enough to hear them are priceless. Instead of tapping my shoulder, trees are tapping my mind and touching my heart.

When I'm outside admiring one of my trees, I find myself in a meditative state. Meditation can be difficult if I sit somewhere and try to focus on my breathing. For me, it's easier to get into a meditative state when I'm enjoying the beauty of the trees around me. All my worries and concerns fall away for a few moments as I think of nothing but the trees.

When you're in a peaceful state of mind around trees, it might be fun to stand close to one and ask it to touch your shoulder. It would be even more interesting if you have a camera toting friend with you. If your friend gets a picture of the tree touching your shoulder, you could put it on TikTok and join others who have been amazed when they've been touched by a tree.

As we faced on January 6 perhaps the most dangerous challenge to our country we had ever experienced, when domestic terrorists tried to stop the United States Congress from certifying the Electoral College votes that confirmed the victory of President-Elect Joe Biden, we found ourselves in different locations, different frames of mind, and different levels of emotion.

How do we get past that? How do we become a united country again? How do we continue to function with some peace of mind?

The people lawfully appointed to handle justice will determine what happens to those domestic terrorists, but how do we carry on? How do we find the peace of mind to perform our daily tasks?

Those of us who have developed some proficiency with prayer and/or meditation can turn to that. But not all of us are very adept at prayer or meditation.

In those times of agitation, fear, anger, or confusion, it can be helpful to find a place nearby where there are quite a few trees. Take a walk among those trees. As you walk, try to calm yourself by noticing details about the trees – the texture of their bark, the shape of their leaves, how tall they grow, how wide they spread their branches.

When you notice such things, you are starting to take your mind off of other things. One of the first steps to practicing prayer or meditation is to take your focus off of those other things and place them on getting into a state of quiet contemplation.

That first step can be so hard it may seem impossible. But persevere. See the trees as allies in your efforts to gain a sense of calm. As you keep at it, you may notice that your breathing slows and your mind quits churning quite so much.

Give yourself enough time as you walk among the trees to sense that you are calming down. You are beginning to find a sense of peace.

Though walking among trees is not the only way to find a calmer, more peaceful frame of mind, it can be quite effective. Whatever works best for you, see if you can practice it a little bit every day. When you do, you will find that peace and calmness stay with you longer, even when you find yourself in difficult circumstances.

May you find the way that works best for you and keep practicing it. The more people who do that, the more our efforts will help to expand calm and peace all around the world. Then, when we face dangerous challenges, negative emotions and attitudes will have less of an impact.