Editing

from this...

We had three days of chain saws blaring, branches thudding to the ground, light revealed through previously hidden sky. A branch from the neighbor's tree falling onto our roof instigated this severe pruning spree. The full, beautiful pines that shaded our yard and sang in the wind are now a sparse shadow of what they were. Yes, I understand it is healthier for the trees and safer for those underneath them, but it is hard to watch the stripping away of all those green branches.
Pruning is a tough job for me.  I like an overflowing abundance of greenery and flowers.
Severe pruning has value, though, and is necessary occasionally.

to this

This is a good lesson for me. My first impression watching this drastic cutting back is sadness and pain. Like throwing open the curtains to let the morning light flow into a dark and dreary room, the expanded views, the revealed light, all hidden before, covered by the dense branches, are now open and wide. The lesson is about editing. Less is better. Cutting back is good. Trimming down the stuff and the pounds and the fluff of life. Whether it involves overflowing stuff in the house, excess pounds, wasted energy or written words, editing, revising, and condensing are good things. Another lesson to pay attention, (and once I get used to the change), a reminder of the beauty of traveling lighter.