Autumn Visualization

Today I offer you a mental health moment.

Take a moment to pause in your day and imagine:

It's a soft, shades-of-gray late afternoon, and the river doesn't look particularly inviting under the thick cloud cover; however, there is a certain magic drawing you to it, beginning with a sense of stillness and warmth.

You step into the kayak and immediately enter a dream world. The sky is a very light gray heavy with moisture. The fall foliage is spectacular, offering a rainbow of color:

• Clusters of unidentified light purple wildflowers dotting the shore
• A great blue heron squawking as it lifts into the air to cross the river
• A variety of greens: evergreens, grass, weeds
• An abundance of trees glowing golden yellow 
• Blazing orange and red maples accenting the shoreline

Looking up, a canopy of leaves appears like a stained glass image allowing light to shine through.

Single, fallen leaves float silently and weightlessly down the river like tiny, sculpted rafts.

It is silent except for the occasional honking of geese passing overhead and the sound of your paddle cutting through the water and returning drops of water to the river with gentle, rhythmic splashes.

The brilliant foliage fades into fog in the distance, providing stunning visual contrast.

The world around you is all stillness and silence but for the sound of wings of several skeins of geese, one followed by another, beating against the water as they touch down briefly, honking incessantly. 

Your skin is tickled by a misting of either very light rain or heavy fog (creating no ripples on the water).

You pause to sip hot spearmint tea snipped from the garden this morning and to inhale its sweet fragrance, inviting the breathtaking colors and serenity to burn an enduring image in your soul. Drink deeply and savor this exquisite moment.

The nearly white sky darkens as an invisible sun sets behind a thick blanket of clouds, and the world around you is painted in shades of bluish gray, olive, and evergreen. 

With a grateful heart you return home, soul restored and batteries charged by the stillness and peace.

Ahhhh...river bliss! 

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© Susan Meyer and River Bliss, 2012-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, including all photos, without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Susan Meyer and River Bliss (www.riverblissed.blogspot.com) with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.