Breathe In, Breathe Out

I've been caught up in months of diving into brand new material, rehearsing, recording, and finally feeling the high energy and emotion of finishing many, many last-minute details of releasing this precious new project, our Christmas album, out into the world.

This morning a wise and trusted friend said to me over the phone, "Do something just for you today, Julia, no matter how small - take a little moment for yourself."

 And I did this: I breathed in the unspeakable beauty of this rainy Fall day as I walked in the park.

I slowed down into peace where I just breathed in and breathed out.

My senses filled with the incredible beauty of this season drenched in rain and magnified in color all around me.

My tears of relief and joy mixed with the rain drops lightly falling down on all.

Autumn almost passed me by in this whirlwind of final tasks. But, I was granted -- or I granted myself? -- the gift of Mother Nature folding in all around me, showering Her love and encouragement in blazes of beauty everywhere I glanced.