Autumn

The Park at Sunset

Setting the scene: A crowded park, with the sun beginning to set

It's absolutely Autumn now. A soft glow of gold outlines everything.

I walk past the crowded field of grass and playground, heading for the bridge for a nice view. I walk with my ipod. The music mellows the atmosphere from crowded to comforting. I walk past the swing set and a boy on a tricycle waves at me with a smile.

"Hello." He says, and I notice that he's missing a tooth. I smile, wave and say hello as well. He pedals past me and I can see the bridge now. A few joggers can be seen on the path. They eventually pass by me with their bright jackets and steady pace. Near the bridge a couple is walking their dog. I smile and wave, but the lady looks away. I shrug and keep going. 

It's a nice walk, and I always enjoy stopping at the bridge to admire the view. It reminds me of a scene in one of my favorite stories, where a couple meets at a bridge in London, if only to talk for a few hours. Circumstances separate them, but they both stay true. 

I begin to wonder if I'm waiting for destiny. The bridge is rickety and unstable beneath me. A few couples walk past me holding hands while taking a stroll, biking and just out enjoying nature. 

I walk on.

It's a peaceful moment, and I'm caught in my music. I'm enjoying the late sun, the beautiful gold, red and orange hues. I'm with nature, yet I'm typing all this on my iphone. Whoever sees me could suspect me of texting, which I find amusing. Some people actually do stare, and I try to suppress a giggle as I smile and wave to each person passing by. 

A pink haze brushes the horizon. Sunset. My favorite time of day.

The music on my ipod varies from classical instrumental to drums and lyrics. Each song affects my pace and helps me keep moving, staying distracted by the steady rhythm of footsteps, music and fresh air. 

Every now and then I say hi to the people who walk, jog or bike by me.

The first star pokes out of a blue and purple sky. To me, this is the most enchanting time of day. In about thirty minutes, it's all over. The sun sinks lower in the sky, and I'm no longer in Twilight Town. I'm in a dusty neighborhood just walking home.

The pond in the middle of the mall

Okay, so it's not like I've never been to the mall before, but I walked by this fountain countless times and wondered what it would be like to sit there for awhile. My first choice was the food court, but it only made me hungry. I bought a cookie, went downstairs and noticed people sitting around the fountain. There was an empty bench, so I thought "why not?"

Setting the scene: The fountain near the food court

People walking past the fountain, barely even noticing it, other than not walking in it. Children running, jumping and trying to touch the water, and their parents warning them not to get too close and to settle down. 

The first thing I notice is the fake bird call. It goes off about every five minutes. Fake nature. The next thing I notice is the echo. It's all around the fake pond. The escalators, and the second floor people are chatting away, some looking over the railing and some just walking by. This place is a crossroads. People rush by absorbed in conversation and ignore the four vendors standing at their booths, texting, chatting with people or just staring at the wall. 

I sit down, and a family sits across from me with the fountain between us. A red haired father, mother and a boy around seven eating a lollipop and leaning against the fake rock formation. He stares at the water while talking at fifty miles an hour. He exaggerates a slump and stands up to stretch, lollipop still in hand. 

I look around and notice the vendor behind me telling her two kids, a dark haired boy and girl, not to wander too far. They choose the fountain, right in front of my bench, and make a game of trying to touch the water before their mother notices. The boy runs around the fountain, while the girl finds a place to sit at the edge of the water and let her hand hover over the water, as if she's debating whether she should make a splash.

Another family with a few rowdy boys joins the fake watering hole and start running and jumping around it, much to their father's dismay. He scolds them saying, "Don't you notice those kids sitting quietly by the water?" His question hangs in midair as the kids run away from the fountain and make a game of jumping the strangely shaped tiles meant to look like rocks. 

A few guys around my age walk past me. I only catch a piece of their conversation, something about a Bengal tiger, and then they're gone. Up the escalator and out of sight. 

I notice that a few people are looking at me. Some of the families, probably wonder why I'm sitting by a fake pond scribbling in a journal when I could be shopping. I smile at some of their confused expressions. As most of them walk away, including the two families. A mother and her two young daughters stand at the edge of the fountain. 

She hands each girl a coin. "Now make a wish, and it might come true." She says, watching the girls grin and babble about what they want to wish for. 

I already know the rule. You can't tell anyone your wish or it won't come true. 

As I watch the girls decide, then throw the coins in the water, I decide that I want to make a wish of my own. I finish my scribbles, fish around my purse for a coin, and find a shiny nickel. Not a penny, but I decided it was good enough. I look in the pond as I think of a wish. Most of the pond floor is covered in pennies. Some are bright and shiny, while others are dull. I even notice some quarters. "Expensive wishes." I say to myself. But I don't see any nickels. 

I look around, No one's watching. 

I smile, close my eyes and flick the coin in the water. It lands in a pile of pennies with a plop and I walk away.

The Lotus Garden -Arina's Sanctuary

The moonlight fell on the flowers, making them glow like stars. Arina sat at the edge of the flower shaped pool and stared at the lotus blossoms, as the soft music drifted through the air. Training was over, and now, just before bed, she had some time to relax, and enjoy the peace and quiet of the temple garden. 

She would often come here when she was small, and when she first arrived at the temple, under her master's wing, she declared this spot to be her favorite area in her new home. As she grew older, past ten, the master would smile at the end of her lessons, and send only a few guards with her as she went to sit by the water garden and watch the dragonflies weave in and out of lotus stems. Sometimes she would count the buds, and other times she would close her eyes and listen to the leaves rustle with a soft hum now and then from the dragonflies. If she were ever to have a sanctuary, a place where she could go when things became dificult, or even a spot to meditate after a long day, this was it. 

Here, in the safte and familiar garden, Arina could dream. She could dream that she was anyone she wanted to be. A performer like the women she saw at the traveling fair. A crafter who wove fine necklaces and carved beautfiful jade pendants. A nobleman's daughter, like the women in stories she read after a few hours of training. Here, she didn't have to be the faelin. She didn't have to be the figurehead of the temple, alongside her wise and kind master. She didn't have to be "the one" that everyone expected great things from. She could just simply be.

Like any person in the world, she could watch the stars, smell the water flowers, swat away a stray dragonfly  and listen to the lap of water against the edge of the pool. 

Obstacles

Every obstacle is a journey, an opportunity to understand something new about yourself and others. This is something I'm slowly learning in many aspects of my life. It's not an easy thing to accept that you have a long journey ahead of you, and it's only just beginning. You may stumble over a small problem and realize there are even bigger boulders in your way up the path. But at the same time, your dream calls to you from the top of that mountain, and you know that once you get there, it will all be worth it in the end.
The most successful people take these obstacles and find a way to use them to achieve their goals. A serious problem can be turned into a song of insight for a music artist. A reoccurring dream or nightmare can inspire stories or works of art. Issues can be shared with people who have similar experiences and motivate them to get through their difficulties.
This isn't just a matter of perspective. It's a way to be resourceful, use what you already have, to get where you want to be. Stress can become motivation to continue down that path and reach that goal or dream. It starts by asking "What about this problem leads towards my dream?"
Is the obstacle teaching you endurance? Patience? Flexibility? Does the problem inspire you in some way?

I'm starting to understand that life is not a race, and if you look for it, you can find all the resources you need to create the life you want to live.

1st picture: Dream High
2nd picture: my photo

Fifteen Minutes

Gentle water lapping
In reeds of green and gold
Various birds flying in
Elipses brave and bold.

You wonder about the weather
Or how the sky is blue.
Underneath the ripples and waves
Reside fish that flip right through
Smooth breezes and murky air.
Everyone you see is there
Living in the moment
Forgeting pains of the past

Anyone can be this way.

Believe that it will last
Reliving good memories
Enacting who you are.
All these things can happen
Knowing you'll get far.