It’s no secret that I adore looking at, and taking pictures of, skies and trees. This season, though, as winter approaches, I’ve found the trees just as mesmerizing bare and without leaves as they were when vibrant and bright at the peak of the fall foliage. I’ve been thinking about it, and the words that keep coming into my brain are, Trees are so brave.

It used to break my heart to see the leaves fall off the trees. To watch the blindingly beautiful colors drop to the ground, to see the world change from bright and full of life to gray, brown, white, and black. I used to count the days until I saw green on the trees. I felt so sad, seeing the bare trees.

But something shifted this year. And I find myself looking up, at the trees, day after day after day. Trees are so brave. They bloom in the spring and summer, allowing themselves to fill with life and hope. In the fall, they simply shine. They don’t compete with each other, they don’t compare against each other. They go all out, being what they are, not judging, not caring what anyone thinks. They are beautiful and they shine. And then, in what is possibly their bravest move yet, they bare their soul. They drop their leaves, reminding me of what is often heard in my yoga classes: “Let go of what no longer serves you.” And the trees just…are. They show themselves to the world. They allow us to see every imperfection, every bump and bruise, every line and wrinkle. And possibly even more stunning than that, is how, through this bareness, we see the sky.

It just makes me feel a bit at peace in my soul, which has been much needed lately. To look up at the tree, and think, Trees are so brave. I can be brave, too. And I can be who I am, and I can be where I am, and I can feel what I feel and think what I think, and I can open myself to the world. And I can stand there, day after day, trusting that I can just be.