I went down to the stream in the woods and it was shimmering in the morning light. There was no sign of anyone else there. I saw a dragonfly rising and falling in and out of a beam of sun. By an old tree, I sat down and took a deep breath like I hadn’t taken in years. The sharp air filled my lungs and I felt my heart rolling around like a dog in green grass. The water was chugging over rocks, making it’s way down towards the sea, and the sound it made was clean and pure. I noticed a ladybug on my shoe. I let her be. I had no desire to touch her or hurt her, no inclination to interfere with her day at all. Some birds were singing their summer songs and the gentle notes added to all this calm I had wandered into. There were various pitches, I noticed, as they sang. Some went high, others low. It didn’t seem to matter much. There was a harmony rolling out of them unlike anything even the grandest orchestra could manage. I plucked a blade of grass from the dirt and held it in my fingers. I traced it along my jawline and down the back of my arm. It was easy on my skin. It was soft and never threatening to cut me or hit me with nettles. I heard the birds singing as I tickled my own neck with the blade and it was thrilling in a tiny magical way. There were trout in the stream.