wu wei

Yesterday I was at my mom's house out on the deck in the middle of the day. In Northern California, our autumns give us beautiful crisp sunny days. Warm but with a bite in the breeze. Yesterday (and today) was one of those days. I didn't want to leave Marin and go spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in my dark cubicle. So I lingered a few extra minutes. I thought about how Alexei would love it here. I thought how nice it would be for him to witness the change of seasons. The creek in back is very still these days, not gushing like it was in March and April. Now it's covered with yellow leaves from the deciduous trees behind our house. I noticed that even in the still water, the leaves seemed to move infinitessimally slowly. And they seemed to move en masse. Watching the leaves had a calming effect on me, and reminded me of the Taoist concept of wu wei, floating down the river with your eyes closed. Letting the river of life be your guide. Trusting that you'll land on beautiful shores.