A writing reflection

My AWA writing workshop on Tuesday mornings has provided an interesting space for reflection and free-form writing in response to prompts.

A poem, followed by the question, "what brings you back to yourself?" found me writing this.  

The village view of St. Fabien-sur-Mer across the bay draws me back.

 

This is what I wrote this morning:

Being surrounded by green, the strong limbs of trees, covered in lichen, foraged by a woodpecker, moving methodically up and down its trunk - this brings me back to myself. The sound of a Carolina wren singing, an improbably loud voice for such a small bird.  A hummingbird appearing at the feeder, suddenly seen from the kitchen window, two squirrels chasing each other around the trunk of the slanted oak; these also bring me back to myself. 

The rich smell of coffee and toasted bread, fruits with breakfast, a rosy-tinged morning solidify a start to being at home again.

I am fortunate to being at home in two places, in the Northern Appalachians of Quebec and the Southern Appalachians of Western North Carolina.

I'm looking forward to being in the Northern Appalachians again after a long absence.  The Gulf of St. Lawrence, the mountains, and the expansive skies always bring me back to myself.