Inner peace

It was a cold Autumn morning. Thick fog drifted gently among the trees. Nature was quiet, almost as if it was mesmerised by the softness of the fog.

 

As I was finding my way through the path from one forest area to another, I started to gather my thoughts. I was thinking, why do I love foggy mornings that much? What is it that makes it so appealing and magical?

 

Firstly, everything around is dead silent, except the river. You can’t hear the birds, there are no animals, and I rarely see people around, which is the strangest to me. Fog does have some eerie connotation to some people, maybe that's the reason.

 

Silence is something I need daily, at least in small doses, to function properly. I discovered that need when I first started spending mornings in nature. It is so therapeutic and relaxing.

 

Music is another thing that I couldn’t imagine my day without. I listen to a variety of genres, but I prefer not to do so when I’m in nature. Actually, I’m a bit baffled when I see someone with earbuds.

 

Do you need prettier music than the sound of the river, birds or wind?

 

Now, how did I discover all these things are benefiting me? By chance, to be honest.

 

Growing up, I was a skinny, shy, withdrawn kid. The best combination for naughty kids who wanted to tease me, make fun of me, and so on. But that’s the part of building your own character later on, I guess.

 

However, I never had a problem making friends, hanging with them and having fun. Quite often, I think about my childhood, and I have only lovely memories that I cherish with a pinch of nostalgia.

 

During my high school years, I was surrounded by so many good friends. Parties, cinema, watching and playing sports, you name it, I had a friend for every event and circumstance.

 

Slowly but surely, that was about to change during my college years. Everyone has their own path in life, so losing touch with some of them was inevitable.

 

And then, first marriages happen, departures to other cities or countries for work, and also the pandemic, which was a time when I lost touch with most people. Life becomes different.

 

At one point, I felt that I had changed my perception of the people around me. I felt that people who only had empty stories with no point started to exhaust me. My inner self was screaming for a shift.

 

Could it be maturity that I felt?

 

In recent years, my circle of people I interact with has shortened significantly. I didn’t have any quarrel with anyone. It just happened, for different reasons.

 

Some are passing by me pretending we never spoke. Others just stopped calling and sending messages.

 

I’m in a period of my life where I have accepted the situation and fully embraced it. It feels wonderful. I have a few friends with whom I interact often, and they are more than enough.

 

Often, I’m my own company, and it brings me great comfort. It is so important for my well-being to have a lifestyle free from unnecessary external noise. I give my best to have as much inner peace as I can, which is not often possible, because life doesn’t work in that way.

 

Now, what does the autumnal photo have to do with my story you just read? Well, I’m imagining myself standing in the field of life, with a few of my friends in the distance. We’re joyfully waving at each other.

 

Is that daft? To have a single photo that reminded me of a story I just told you. I hope it’s not.

 

And even if it is, this is what photography brings to me, and I’m so grateful I discovered it.

 

Done