I read the morning news during breakfast, and I read some of what St John wrote on Patmos after that.

And then I spent time journaling, which feels very small but also very important.

And after writing five or six pages, I found myself thinking of the cardinal I saw in a small tree yesterday down by the river, puffed up against the cold, and placidly meeting my gaze as I stood on the trail ten feet away.

So I decided to end my journal entry with a sketch of that cardinal, with its calm gaze and its small part of the world. And now as I post this here I am thinking of Wendell Berry’s wise poem, The Peace of Wild Things.

A colorful red male cardinal is perched on a branch in a detailed watercolor pencil and ink drawing.