The
peace of nature calls to me once in a while. Life overwhelms
me and sucks the energy from me and I find it necessary to leave the
phone, the house, the work, the computer and the people and follow
the path up the river to sit on the bank with my back against an old
growth tree. It fills my soul with peace and my
mind with a calmness I seem to lose over the course of days and weeks
at work and through all I do in my 'normal' life. It gives me
the balance and centeredness to face the world again.
This
time I took a camera; nothing fancy, just a high quality throw away
- you know the kind you take the whole camera in to be developed.
No zoom lens or fancy settings but it did have a flash.
I wandered the paths through the forest, camera in hand, looking for
ways to share the experience. I failed.
There is no way a camera, even one with fancy doodads can impart the
smell in the air, the moist embrace, the calm music of the wind through
the leaves or the voices of life that surround you.
I wander
along a path entwined among the trees, the sound of the river accompanies
my steps. Every few feet is another view that takes my
breath away and I try to capture it on film. After about
a half hour of wandering I feel a great need to sit still for a while
and breath in the calm and absorb the peace and so I direct my path
closer to the riverbank and that is when I discovered the Cathedral.
A small
tree branch arched over a narrow side path as if offering a doorway
to the peace beyond. The branch had a decorative veil
of moss hanging from it in places and I felt it inviting me to step
through. The day was perfect; warm but not hot, clear
with a beautiful blue sky above. A few clouds could be
seen but they were more the kind for decoration rather than function.
I carefully lowered my head and stepped beyond the arch into a canopy
of trees. There must be a dozen trees over 100 years
old. A few old logs rest on the ground having served their time
upright. Looking up I can see the blue of the sky though
the veil of leaves and branches above me. A cloud adds
texture to the view. The sun shines through the greens of the
leaves and seems to twinkle as the wind blows them about.
There
is a branch that lays across the path and I carefully sit on it to
read a bit from an inspirational book I brought. My breath
deepens as I read the words of wise men before me, my calm is being
restored, but I feel something is still empty within.
I live
in a world of upholstery, polished wood, metal and plastic.
My home is plaster and lumber. I drive my car to and from
wherever I go and I find so little time to do more than work and come
home. My small attempts at bringing nature closer
to me have either failed miserably or failed greatly.
My small vegetable garden seemed sickly and produced little, yet the
blackberries grow in abundance and have taken over my yard so that
I cannot enjoy the small patch of ground I live on. My
houseplants bring me some measure of grounding and I have seemed to
rediscover what it takes to allow them to flourish but I need more.
I need to touch the earth.
Rising
from the branch I walk a few steps deeper into the trees.
Tears well up in my eyes and I thank All That Is for providing such
beauty. Near the branch/pew I had used was a patch of
ground under a small bushy bit of growth. The ground is covered
in old leaves, needles, earth, branches.. the stuff found
on forest floors. I sit down in this new place and the
ground is soft and comforting to me. I cannot stop the
sigh of contentment that escapes from my lips. The leaves
smell musky like the earth.. the layers darken from yellow and
green to near black next to the soil itself. I pull
out my tablet and begin to write, trying to capture what I can.
The
river is close, it hides most other sounds. I take the
last of the pictures in the camera; some of the trees that stand guard
over this place, the sky, the sun; trying to capture what cannot show
up on film. Then I return to my spot and just breathe.
There is no time here, no requirements.. only the river that
never stops. I sit in quiet solitude until I feel my breathing
is deep and my mouth smiles without thought. I feel full
again.. not with 'productive energy' but with blessed peace.
But
that was not to be the end of my gifts for I decide that I want to
see the river as well as hear it. I follow the sound toward
the riverbank and step through the trees to see the river spread out
before me. It's wide in this section with a small area of little
rapids close by. The tumbling water provides a beautiful
chorus to the softer voices of just beyond where the water is calmer.
The sky is open above me, no longer peaking through a veil of leaves
and the blue is perfect. The sight of the river,
both upstream and down, is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
The sound. The diamond/lights that dance across the surface.
The solid rocks that bejewel the rivers course. The small bits
of fern and moss that find any surface to cling to. Large
logs lay across parts of the river and provide more beauty even in
their decay. The banks of the river as far as I can see
are guarded by majestic trees that have stood their ground for decades.
The greens variegate from deep to light, with touches of yellow and
red as fall peers around the corner. This beauty must
also be touched and so I remove my shoes and lay on a large rock in
the river, just beyond the bank. The sun has warmed my
perch and the cold of the river water on my feet balances the heat
of the rock I lay on.
I am
filled with peace. There is no other church or temple
on earth that can give more than what I have found here.
I wish I could send this to each person on earth. Not
the picture. Not the words. I wish I could share
the peace, the beauty, the joy. All I can do is
take it with me when I leave this Cathedral of Light and Shine on
all I come in contact with.
Peace
be with you.
