The Joy That's in This Journey

I was driving home in the late afternoon and realized that it was the first time in a long time that I was coming home at the end of a work day while there was still daylight. The sky was illuminated with a soft pink glow that hovered in the chill. Pale yellow sun trimmed the edges of the clouds, and a there was a still, soft, blue-gray sky as a backdrop. There were silhouettes of trees as far as I could see, some with leaves still clinging, dangling above the snowy earth, and gentle hills behind them, curved like a woman's hip or shoulder. I felt myself exhale.

The road home is not a straight one and the incline is not a steep one. When it's dark, the reflected light on the road from oncoming cars makes me cautious. I keep an eye out for deer, their subtle movement on the side of the road, or the reflection of my headlights in their eyes. My shoulders come up closer to my ears when I am driving in the dark.  But tonight, I was aware of my relaxed breathing as I allowed myself to move through the turns with a near lean. From the corner of my eye I could see a flock of birds rise up from a field as if on cue.  They rose in front of those trees that looked like limbs of old men, branches that taper as they get closer to the sky. I imagined that I could hear the sound of the air against their wings, the sure flap that caused them to rise so steadily.

By the time I was further into the valley, closer to home, colors were muted but no less lovely. Smoke was rising out of most chimneys, lighter than the sky. The dance that spills out is just so sensuous. I could smell the wood fires and there was something about it that evoked memory of a long time ago. It was the kind of memory that gets you to the edge of a place or a feeling, but doesn't quite take you all the way there.

Coming into the village the road straightens and the houses that line it looked quiet. Some have modest decoration for the season, and the lights shine bright against the snow. This landscape that I move through every day welcomes me home and the simple task of driving to get here has felt like a part of an important journey.