You are standing in cool shadow, but surrounded by dancing daubs of light. Above you is a roof of glowing leaves, and beneath your feet is bare dirt. You are standing on a forest path.

You can hear the sound of a river to your right. It is close by, but shielded from your view by the dense foliage of small trees.

The air is rich with the scent of soil. Take three deep breaths. You are in no hurry. Savor the freshness of the air and feel the refreshing breeze against your skin. This is the same breeze that causes the high branches to dance and sway, causing the the puddles of sunlight to undulate around you.

Relax. Relax the top of your head, and your face. Feel that relaxation spread to your ears, your jaw and your neck.

You are safe here, surrounded by the trunks of mature trees. They rise from their underground roots, to tower high above you. Above the forest floor.

They rustle, a whisper compared to the roar of the river.

Relax your shoulders and your chest. Your arms and your hands. Let all the tension flow down your arms and out your fingertips. Let it dissipate in the breeze.

For these few minutes, you feel comfortable, at home with the trees, some of which have stood right here for longer than you can imagine, and the river, more ancient still.

Relax your abdomen, and your hips.

The same wind that animates the treetops caresses your skin. You have stood on this path before. You are not a visitor here. You feel connected. You are a part of it all.

Let the gentle flow of relaxation extend down into your legs. Just feel the muscles of your thighs soften. This wave of healing energy reaches your knees. Release any pain or stiffness, any weight.

Your feet connect you to the earth, and from them you rise into the air. You tower over the grass and saplings, just as the trees tower over you. You have a place among them all.

The healing power of relief enters your calves and your feet. Release any tension from your body and let it drain out the end of your toes.

Your heart beats in unison with the heartbeat of the forest, and you realize you are made of the same stuff. Stardust, spun off to form the rocks and wood. The water and the soil. The clouds that sail high above even the tallest trees. Everything. Including you.

The trees pump water from the ground, up the trunk, through the branches and out the leaves as the oxygen you breathe. Your body pumps blood from your torso, through your arms and into your fingers.

The light shifts and falls across your face. You feel the warmth of it on your skin. The sunlight touches you the way it touches the leaves above, and the remains of a fallen tree, which is slowly returning to the dirt from which it grew. This is not death, but simply a transition.

The seed grew to become a giant, and then reveled in its opportunity to be a tree. It sheltered many before laying down to rest. Now it nurtures many more, including its children, as it peacefully returns to where it started. The ancient cycle repeats, and everyone is richer for it.

Notice how the light hits the top of the decomposing tree trunk, causing deep shadows on the underside of it.

You can not know light without the shadow, nor shadow without the light. They define each other, and their interplay defines everything we see.

You can not know comfort without pain. Joy without sorrow, or life without death.

There is comfort in this balance. There is richness and meaning in this relationship.

We find ourselves at stages in the circuit. There is a rhythm built into the eons.

And so we revel in our time to stand. We see and we welcome. We care and shelter others before we finally lay down to rest.

Peacefully. There is nothing to fear. Nothing to regret.

And the cycle continues.