Life had taken over as it often does so I hadn’t been in my orchard for a while. Unlike today’s orchards that are neat little rows of miniature trees, mine is made up of massive, Victorian-era apple trees spread over several acres. A walk through the forest trails to visit them was long overdue and gathering cedar branches to make a Christmas wreath gave me the perfect excuse to head out.

Every season is beautiful along the orchard trails and winter is no exception. While apple season finished last month, it is no less stunning at this time of year albeit in the way a black and white photograph is beautiful rather than its typical lushness.

I cut fresh cedar branches that were encroaching on Passion’s space. When autumn approaches, this classic-looking, oversized vintage tree bursts with nearly a thousand deep pink apples sporting tiny white speckles that taste similar to delicious apples but with a more intense flavour. As I carried the cedar branches back to my home and laid them across a picnic table I found at the beginning of summer, I couldn’t help but think that too often we place the practicalities of life ahead of our passions, desires, and longings, without realizing that this tendency frequently lessens the joy we experience.

Practicalities like earning a livelihood, paying bills, responding to others’ demands on our time, and other tasks slowly but definitively erode the joy we experience. Before long, we may wonder why sadness and lethargy have settled in as our new norm. A visit with Passion and an hour or so spent gathering branches and creating my homemade decoration reminded me of the importance of taking time out to convene with the longings of my heart and the desires of my soul. As I proudly adorn my front door with my simple and natural creation, I vow to carve away time to tend to the truly important things in life--my soul’s needs.