This past few weeks has held a fair bit of stress on both personal and community levels. There have been difficult conversations, uncertainty, and more than a few sleepless nights. At times, it felt as though my mind was constantly circling the same concerns, searching for solutions that seemed just out of reach.

One of the things I love about living in the country is the ability to let it all go, if only for a little while, through an hour’s immersion in nature.

So the other evening, I walked down the driveway and meandered along the river path. The air was warm and a gentle breeze caused the newly unfurled leaves to rustle together. The river burbled and gurgled its way over rocks and around fallen trees, unconcerned with deadlines, budgets, or disagreements. Spring had quietly transformed the landscape while I was busy focusing on other things. Grasses had grown tall, and the evening carried that unmistakable scent of early summer.

When I returned up the driveway, the bats were out, flitting over the lawn among the trees, snatching early insects from the air. I sat for a while and watched them swoop and dart through the fading light. Around us, the first crickets of the season called from the tall grasses, while the mountains stood quietly in the background as they have for generations.

As I sat reflecting, the tension began to lessen and some fraction of inner peace returned. The problems had not disappeared. The difficult conversations still needed to be had. The unanswered questions were still waiting for me the next morning.

But something had changed.

For a little while, I had stepped outside my own concerns and reconnected with the larger world around me. The river was still flowing. The bats were still hunting. The crickets were still singing. Nature continued on, reminding me that life is bigger than any single challenge we happen to be facing.

Sometimes the solution isn’t fixing the problem. Sometimes it’s simply sitting quietly long enough to remember that the world is bigger than the problem.