I picked a leaf up from the ground br and compared it to my hand. br Its veins were strikingly similar br and wondered was it planned br that all of life is connected br in ways we tend to forget? br The beauty of this connection br is startling and yet br I know that as the leaf withers away br others will take its place. br And I, like you my dearest friends br will also have to face br withering from gusts of wind br that make the dry leaf unseen. br likened to the gusts of wind br that will wipe our slates clean.