high altitude dreaming

Driving in today, I found myself very distracted by what was happening hundreds, if not thousands, of feet above my head. A cold front is coming, which means that rain and clouds are blowing through in advance, and very quickly. There's a clear line in the sky; below that line it's relatively still, but above it clouds fly along, rolling and changing shape dynamically. The thought that passed through my head was, "Up there things are changing quickly; down here it's not". Sitting in traffic only heightened that disparity, I think.

perambulations

Walking amongst the trees is very different in autumn, particularly after a night of sustained high winds. The light, while lower and weaker, shines directly through the bare branches. It seems both further away and brighter, if cooler. The wind moves much more freely, and the sound of it's passing is in the leaves on the ground, as though it's sharing my perspective, rather than out of reach in the tops of the trees. The sky is clearer, closer, underscoring my impression that the coming winter is the season of unfettered wind. I look forward to the big, strong winds pushing against me like a giant, friendly dog wanting acknowledgement, if not someone to play with, every time I step outside.

My daily path winds between an apartment complex on one side, and an office building on the other. Between them are all the trees, a steadily running creek, and a small sloping valley on one end. Sitting in my favorite spots, I feel surrounded by wild, natural life, while knowing with certainty that high concentrations of people are close at hand. I find myself wishing that more of life was like this; buildiings in the midst of trees, with wild-ish areas being more the norm than the exception. In nonspecific, personally utopian ways, I imagine life where everyone enjoys wild space enough that it's a regular part of daily life.