Oasis

There's a woman in my neighborhood who leaves her suburban house on our street every year to spend her summers up in the mountains at her cabin instead. She and her husband have been doing this for decades and have told us so many stories about how pleasant it is to get away from the heat of the valley and wake up to the cool, crisp mountain air instead. They'll talk about the breeze in the trees and all the animals that come right up to their doors and the different encounters they've had over the years. At home, she gets up early in the morning and walks the roads of our neighborhood, but in the summer she can walk all over the trails of the mountains and not see another soul, just listen to the birds. There's something about the rich quiet of nature that heals your soul. Something about listening to wind or water or even just your own thoughts that brings all that chaos of life down to a low hum. I feel happy for her that she has this place that brings her so much joy, this beautiful retreat. The very definition of the word oasis, and even just saying that makes me feel a peace of that calm coming back to me.

["Oasis" 48x60, available at @jgartgallerybainbridge ]