As I awaken and do a quick stretch I reach to unzip the tent. What a beautiful early morning it is and I feel so fortunate that I was able to reserve this amazing shoreline campsite! I breathe in the fresh spring air and poke my head out of the opening. A lone duck quietly glides in from the east, gently touching down to the lake’s surface with a soft splash.

A smile crosses my lips. “All is well in the world,” I chant to myself. “I am one with nature.” My therapist has been encouraging me to get outside and connect with nature, so here I am, soaking in the moment.

Less than a second after the duck lands, I hear a faint quacking in the distance. The duck must have a friend coming to join it. Perhaps these birds are a bonded pair, or two long lost friends who will reunite today on this very lake in front of me. The emotion swells inside me as I think of witnessing a heartwarming waterfowl reunion.

But then the quacking in the distance grows louder. It is not the voice of a single creature, I realize, but rather a cacophony of quacks. A brisk breeze comes in from the east, ruffling my hair. What I see next sends chills down my spine.

The sky begins to grow dark as a massive fluttering shadow overtakes the heavens above. I instinctively cover my head with my arms as ducks swoop and dive, occasionally sending fecal missiles hurtling past my ears. The sound of the quacking becomes a deafening roar as thousands of ducks swarm overhead.

I turn to run inland with my arms still over my head. As the birds dive-bomb the lake, water splashes ten feet high and sends waves up to shore, slurping up my tent and washing it out into the lake.

As I fight to keep my feet on the ground from the tornado of swirling feathers, I squeeze my eyes closed and yell “All is well in the world!”

A feeling of total euphoria sweeps over me as I’m lifted into the flapping vortex. This is what my therapist must have meant. My cares fly away as I transcend into the quacking void above. I am one with nature.