The first thing I noticed as I began my Transcendentalist journey was the many distinct shades of green which adorned the trees. These vibrant colors contrasted with the gray sky above, as the leaves seemed to be draining the colors out of the sky for their own benefit. Although some leaves had begun to turn orange and red as they prepared to part with their source of life, many leaves still retained the will to live.
A few birds flying through these trees drew my attention to the noisy flock of birds nearby. I expected to see a few birds, but as my journey continued I noticed that there was a gathering of at least 20 birds in my neighbor’s yard; I obviously hadn’t been made aware that today my neighborhood would be the site of a bird convention. A few yards away from Bird Con, there was a bird who, unlike all the rest, had feathers that were a beautiful light blue; I like to think that this independent spirit was on a Transcendentalist journey of its own. Also unlike the others, this bird seemed to fly higher and more often than those attending Bird Con. When humans think about birds, they often imagine a lone speck flying high above civilization, but these birds didn’t seem to care about human opinions at all. Overall, the group of birds was down to earth, and when they felt it was necessary to fly, they did so in tiny spurts, because to the birds, flying is no big deal. It’s very curious how birds take flying, a concept humans find fascinating, for granted.
Even more curious than the birds deciding to congregate in one place was their collective decision to leave. Within seconds, Bird Con adjourned, and although I could still hear the mob’s calls to one another, it looked as though no living thing had ever been there. However, the lone bluebird still remained, not quite finished with its Transcendentalist journey.
With the birds now out of sight, I turned my attention back to the trees, and followed a single leaf as it fell, unceremoniously, to the ground to its final resting place among so many leaves that had fallen before, and where so many leaves would follow. It saddened me to think that no one would ever value the existence of this leaf; even I had forgotten which of the thousands of leaves on the ground had been the last one to fall. I watched one more leaf fall to the ground to join its fellow corpses, and with that depressive thought, my journey reached its end.