I had dinner with a wise friend. We have known each other for a long time, and I feel free to speak from the heart. I was mentally stumbling and contorting logic in an attempt to explain a series of events. The truth is, I was trying to UNDERSTAND the outcome of said events. She listened patiently and then said sweetly, with love and not a bit of criticism, “Maybe it’s none of your business.” I was speechless as the truth of her words found their way into my knowing.

This idea accompanied me on an early morning hike.

I was thrilled to see the snow-covered maple outside my bedroom window at dawn. I drank my coffee and donned my snow gear eagerly. I was not the first one at the forest preserve, but I was the first human on the trails along Somonauk Creek.

The snow crunched beneath my boots. The water looked dark, like rich maple syrup next to the new snow. When I was a kid, we made Maple Taffy to celebrate Winter. I smiled at the memory of long, cold Minnesota winters.  

The bird sounds broke the silence. Birds are easy to spot in the gray sky and bare trees. I gave up taking pictures of birds long ago. It’s a rule I made for myself because I miss the moment if I try to capture it. Eagle or woodpecker, it doesn’t matter. I watch and listen. Each is a gift that must be embraced in the moment.

I followed the trail made by the forest residents as it meandered through the trees. I wondered who made the first prints, rabbit or deer. “It’s none of your business,” I murmured. I came across fat-tire tracks and texted a friend to see if it was him. “It’s none of your business,” I thought and hit send anyway. “None of your business” eased into “Who cares?” and “What difference does it make?” It became a mantra that followed each thought. Eventually, the questions softened into a simple statement: “It is.”

As I walked uphill toward the road, I spied light shining through the far end of a culvert. It looked like an eyeball and amused me. I broke the tops off dry weeds to make eyelashes and laughed. The eyeball winked at me as I skipped over, “Why are you doing this?” and giggled simply, “It is.”

The concept is liberating. No questioning, wondering, puzzling, blaming or fixing.

Everywhere I looked, I saw the simple truth. It is.

It is because it is.