One of the best rocks I’ve ever seen is this large round rock in the middle of the forest, on the side of a highway.  I sit on top of this rock.  I lie down on this rock.  I feel the cold, smooth expanses of it against my hands, my legs, the back of my neck and the back of my head.  Above me I see green leaves.  There’s only a few trees left in the forest that haven’t lost all of their leaves for the year, and only one tree that hasn’t even begun to turn yellow.  That tree is the one directly above the rock, and when I lie down I look up and I see the leaves glow from the sunlight filtering through the branches and tendrils of the plant life.  I hear the wind, and it’s calming.  It sounds like my breath, almost like if I were 600 inches tall instead of 67, the sound of the wind and the sound of my exhales would be one and the same. 

 I keep breathing deeply, until my head is light and my lungs are icy cold.  The sound of the wind is almost uninterrupted, except for the noise of engines from the cars along the highway.  Still, the serenity is uninterrupted, the gentle roars only add to the atmosphere of the forest.  Squirrels and sparrows russell the leaves as they dart through the forest floor.  The subtle sounds of clicking and running slowly fade, until I hardly notice them anymore.

I stroke the round sides of the rock with my hands, and my rings create a vibrating sensation that spreads through my hands to my wrists.  Everything is crisp and cold, but it’s refreshing.  The clammy air from indoors is far in my past, and now there is only the chill of the outdoors whispering into my throat.  If I were to open my eyes, I know they would promptly become dry from the wind.  But I don’t open my eyes; instead, I picture the green leaves turned gold and glowing by the setting sun.  I picture the forest to my right and can see more rocks and fallen logs, and I picture the forest to my left and can visualize the grassy pathway filled with now-dead weeds.  When I open my eyes and turn to leave, I know my entire body will feel heavier than it did a moment before.  So I don’t open them just yet, and I feel light like feathers and cold like ice for just a minute more.