Beautiful.

Peaceful.

Silent.

As I walk through the woods that day, those are the words I choose to use.

I take a deep breath and fill my lungs with the freshness of the earthy air. Light trickles through the canopy above, allowing me to take in the forests colours. The leaves, dark green in the shade, vibrant in the light, the rainbow of browns of the dirt path and the tree bark, and the foliage adding splashes of red and blue from the berries. I brush my hand over the bark, it’s roughness making me smile. Oh if you could talk mighty tree, what wisdom might you impart?

Off in the distance I can here the faintest sound, a sound that would usually be ignored by others. Like a whisper on the wind, it calls to me. I stop and I listen.

Water. Travelling over the rocks and stones of its bed, ever flowing down hill, towards an unknown future. I take another breath and enter into a meditative state, listening to the splashes and flops of the stream that isn’t too far away.

Breath and listen. Breath and listen. Breath and listen.

Not a bird sings it’s song, nor a chipmunk chitters. Not a single insect speaks, or an animal move. It is completely silent.

I understand what my master meant now and I continue on. With nothing but the crunch of my steps and a faint whisper on the wind, I understand and I feel happy.

For now I know the true beauty of silence.