“The mood in which you set out on a spring or autumn ramble or a sturdy winter walk, and your greedy feet have to be restrained from devouring the distances too fast, is the mood in which your best thoughts and impulses come to you, or in which you might embark on any noble and heroic enterprise. Life is sweet in such moods, the universe is complete, and there is no failure or imperfection anywhere.”
 – John Burroughs, Pepacton

How long has it been since you “rambled” in nature? These late autumn days are a perfect time.
 
Some of my favorite memories as a child are of late autumn rambles. I played outside after school and often roamed the neighborhood beneath a bright blue sky as leaves fluttered down. Hours later I’d rush home after the sun had set. The once-warm air would cool, and my step would quicken. By the time I got home, my cheeks were cold and pink, my fingers feeling frozen. 
 
I still love to wander in late autumn afternoons. My soul opens on those walks, and my mind, full of tumbling thoughts, suddenly creates order out of chaos. Sometimes I zero in on the most critical thought, or suddenly find an answer to a puzzle I’ve been dwelling on. When I return home, I am refreshed both physically and mentally.

An added bonus is an overwhelming sense of gratitude for nature, for the changing seasons, the colors, the wind, the sky.

Here’s hoping that sometime this week you can go rambling – and find gratitude for the beauty and continuity of nature.