Where do you go when you feel troubled or unsettled? Is there a place you find healing? I don’t have need to go further than my back yard. I open the kitchen door and go into sanctuary, to retreat, to respite. I sit on the stone wall surrounding my herb garden, crush a few leaves of rosemary or mint and breathe deeply. Breath prayers rewarded with familiar fragrance bring to my attention the joy of growing things. I walk the flagstone path between the roses and measure countless blessings. I sit in stillness and wonder by the little pond and watch the silver flashes and ripples, gifts from fish and sunlight. Quiet is broken only by trickling water and birdsong. I witness the miracle of beginnings and rhythms as my eyes wander from new buds to the pregnant green of promised daffodils. I am settled.