A Trip Through the Trees
Approaching the
trailhead, my stomach churned with a mix of excitement and anxiousness. I knew
what loomed ahead in the mist-shrouded woods, or at least I thought I did.
Mystery laid in wait amid the mossy boughs. Although I was aware to some degree
of what was to come, there was a keen sense of wild bewilderment in the air as
well. Eager to explore extravagant territories unknown, I forged on.
The sun’s radiance filled azure skies as I started along on the path. To my left a rippling creek ran towards the sea. Fields of jade and amber grasses flanking the path bore loosely grouped birches and alders, smooth like delicate porcelain flesh. I brought my hand up to my brow in quazi-salute, peering up into the blue expanse above – a hawk circled overhead in sweeping arcs. Even in the shade of my hand my eyes could only bear the blazing blue of the sky for so long though, and I soon turned my eyes down toward the ground. Looking down at my feet, I felt a sense of grounding, of closeness to the Earth. With each step I took, I could feel the energy from deep within the Earth pulsing up into the callused soles of my feet.
Smooth skin soon gave way to fissures as the predominant trees became douglas firs and western red cedars. As the woods grew denser, sky seemed to grow darker. The air hung heavier with earthy mushroom and dank moss.
The sun’s radiance filled azure skies as I started along on the path. To my left a rippling creek ran towards the sea. Fields of jade and amber grasses flanking the path bore loosely grouped birches and alders, smooth like delicate porcelain flesh. I brought my hand up to my brow in quazi-salute, peering up into the blue expanse above – a hawk circled overhead in sweeping arcs. Even in the shade of my hand my eyes could only bear the blazing blue of the sky for so long though, and I soon turned my eyes down toward the ground. Looking down at my feet, I felt a sense of grounding, of closeness to the Earth. With each step I took, I could feel the energy from deep within the Earth pulsing up into the callused soles of my feet.
Smooth skin soon gave way to fissures as the predominant trees became douglas firs and western red cedars. As the woods grew denser, sky seemed to grow darker. The air hung heavier with earthy mushroom and dank moss.
I looked down to watch my feet carry me. As they marched onward, seemingly of their own accord, I began to lose my sense of groundedness. It was as if the Earth were falling away and I was climbing up to some higher plane. And yet, in spite of this, I somehow felt even closer to the Earth as well, like this heightened state was where the natural world really was all the time and I was only just now reaching it, just now coming home.
Rounding a bend in the trail that caught a big leaf maple in the crook of its elbow, I entered a section of the forest that suddenly felt like a sanctuary. Sublimity sat in outstretched branches. Holiness held the air still as a monk in meditation.
Sunlight gleamed in streaks through broad leaves and soft needles. The glow cast itself upon one particularly grand cedar, framing the tree in the type of light one would expect to see skirting the skin of an angel. Slowly, step by step, I drew nearer to the arboreal emanation.
Greens breathed like dragon’s breath, spicy and on the verge of bursting, bursting with energy from within. Muted browns and greys formed a roughly textured backdrop to highlights of pale green tinged with white, lichen on bark, lovers caught in embrace, in a single breath.
My awe at the serenity of the scene began to verge almost on terror. Sensations welled up inside of me, churning seawater in a rising tide. I felt simultaneously a pull toward the tree as well as a gnawing desire to run, to shield myself from its otherworldly grandeur.
Without notice of the turmoil boiling within, my feet began to carry me onward once again. The sanctuary slowly faded into the background, but some of the sensation inspired there still lingered. The trees around me now didn’t seem quite so surreal, but I still had a sense of something extraordinary in the air.
Rounding a bend in the trail that caught a big leaf maple in the crook of its elbow, I entered a section of the forest that suddenly felt like a sanctuary. Sublimity sat in outstretched branches. Holiness held the air still as a monk in meditation.
Sunlight gleamed in streaks through broad leaves and soft needles. The glow cast itself upon one particularly grand cedar, framing the tree in the type of light one would expect to see skirting the skin of an angel. Slowly, step by step, I drew nearer to the arboreal emanation.
Greens breathed like dragon’s breath, spicy and on the verge of bursting, bursting with energy from within. Muted browns and greys formed a roughly textured backdrop to highlights of pale green tinged with white, lichen on bark, lovers caught in embrace, in a single breath.
My awe at the serenity of the scene began to verge almost on terror. Sensations welled up inside of me, churning seawater in a rising tide. I felt simultaneously a pull toward the tree as well as a gnawing desire to run, to shield myself from its otherworldly grandeur.
Without notice of the turmoil boiling within, my feet began to carry me onward once again. The sanctuary slowly faded into the background, but some of the sensation inspired there still lingered. The trees around me now didn’t seem quite so surreal, but I still had a sense of something extraordinary in the air.
Up ahead, I could see a break in the trees – the edge of the forest? Approaching the end of my journey, I began to contemplate the glimpses of god that I had seen back in the forest. I had been immersed in a mystical fragment of time and space, carried somehow beyond myself on the breeze of the woods.
I broke through the tree line and was met with bright blue skies once again. The abrupt shift from dense forest to open field was slightly disarming. Why? Why the sudden change? Regardless, the clarity and openness of the space was refreshing after the almost overpowering awe of the forest and I collapsed into a bed of soft grass and wildflowers.
Laying in the sweet bedding of the clearing, I pried my shoes off, toe to heel, and then tugged at my socks as well, allowing my tired feet to breathe in the fresh air. As my feet took a respite from the trip, the full length of my body bore the weight of myself and I felt almost weightless, stretched out beneath the sky.
A smattering of cirrus clouds had rolled in, hardly interrupting the stark blue stretching from end to end of the horizon, but just enough to soften the sunlight and comfort my eyes. As my lazy gaze followed the clouds’ slow trek across the sky, my mind began to wander.
I felt somehow… different here, among the trees and other denizens of the wilderness. Like I was in some great artist’s painting, deeply moving and breathtakingly beautiful. Like I had walked along lines traced by some divine brush, formed by a hand stronger and defter than any human’s.
Occasionally, for only just a brief moment, my mind would entertain flirtations with thoughts tied to the typical milieu of life back where I had come from. Without fail though, I couldn’t help but be pulled back into the immediate moment. The sweet smell of tender mistmaiden and of starry woodnymph wafted on the breeze. Tall grasses tickled the valleys between wriggling toes.
Turning my attention from the open field and expanse of sky overhead, I began to feel drawn onward to the trees which lay on the other side of the clearing. Shoes clambered onto feet. Feet padded along grass. Grass became ferns, and clouds became leaves.
I broke through the tree line and was met with bright blue skies once again. The abrupt shift from dense forest to open field was slightly disarming. Why? Why the sudden change? Regardless, the clarity and openness of the space was refreshing after the almost overpowering awe of the forest and I collapsed into a bed of soft grass and wildflowers.
Laying in the sweet bedding of the clearing, I pried my shoes off, toe to heel, and then tugged at my socks as well, allowing my tired feet to breathe in the fresh air. As my feet took a respite from the trip, the full length of my body bore the weight of myself and I felt almost weightless, stretched out beneath the sky.
A smattering of cirrus clouds had rolled in, hardly interrupting the stark blue stretching from end to end of the horizon, but just enough to soften the sunlight and comfort my eyes. As my lazy gaze followed the clouds’ slow trek across the sky, my mind began to wander.
I felt somehow… different here, among the trees and other denizens of the wilderness. Like I was in some great artist’s painting, deeply moving and breathtakingly beautiful. Like I had walked along lines traced by some divine brush, formed by a hand stronger and defter than any human’s.
Occasionally, for only just a brief moment, my mind would entertain flirtations with thoughts tied to the typical milieu of life back where I had come from. Without fail though, I couldn’t help but be pulled back into the immediate moment. The sweet smell of tender mistmaiden and of starry woodnymph wafted on the breeze. Tall grasses tickled the valleys between wriggling toes.
Turning my attention from the open field and expanse of sky overhead, I began to feel drawn onward to the trees which lay on the other side of the clearing. Shoes clambered onto feet. Feet padded along grass. Grass became ferns, and clouds became leaves.
The trees residing in the forest edge were sparse. Light trickled in with me through the trees as I moved from clearing to enclosure. Scenes began to blend together, and it no longer felt like I was walking past tree after tree after tree. Rather, I was in a singular frame of evolving landscape.
Feet trekked along beneath me. The forest seemed to morph around me – young trees grew old, and I was surrounded on all sides by massive, ancient behemoths, their weathered faces cloaked in great beards of sage green moss. The air was still, but held a peculiar vibrancy, infused with the breath of a thousand trees, birds, ants, spirits of the woods.
The forest’s whispering breath took on tones of a brook’s bubbling song. My feet glided over rocks and roots, carrying me closer to the source of liquid music. I found and followed the brook to a pond nestled amid worn sandstone and wavering reed grass. The surface of the water caught the light, a visitor from the cosmos, and sent it spiraling, dancing, from shore to shore.
Feet trekked along beneath me. The forest seemed to morph around me – young trees grew old, and I was surrounded on all sides by massive, ancient behemoths, their weathered faces cloaked in great beards of sage green moss. The air was still, but held a peculiar vibrancy, infused with the breath of a thousand trees, birds, ants, spirits of the woods.
The forest’s whispering breath took on tones of a brook’s bubbling song. My feet glided over rocks and roots, carrying me closer to the source of liquid music. I found and followed the brook to a pond nestled amid worn sandstone and wavering reed grass. The surface of the water caught the light, a visitor from the cosmos, and sent it spiraling, dancing, from shore to shore.
Slow lights roll
Along the glassy plane Scattered in darkness Shimmering single-file A merging, Emerging, 1, 10, 100, to infinity. A brilliant sheen casts The placid pool in two. |
Whispered stories
From then, From now, From eternity, Echo among Twilight towers crowned With wreaths of green. Unspoken words speak, Unfettered ears listen. |
Rapt as I was by the serenity of the scene, it wasn’t long before I found my feet carrying me away from the water’s edge and back through the forest once again. Towering cedars and graceful alders set the stage of my descent. Walking through woods progressively less dense, I found myself reflecting back upon my journey. The landscape had transported me to some other plane. Here, among the trees, I had been in the presence of beauty, of harmony, of glimpses of infinity within every dangling leaf, every fragile flower.
Approaching the threshold of wilderness, a sensation of pure clarity penetrated my being, and the groundedness I had once felt ebbed back into me. I brought my feet to a halt to tarry one final moment in the ethereal embrace of the forest. Looking down, I noticed that I had stopped in a puddle. I stared into the eyes of the reflection staring up at me from the rippling surface, and knew that I had been no transparent eyeball that day. The visions I had experienced, however preternatural, had been embodied – an interplay of my own humble presence and the divine presence of my environment.
Approaching the threshold of wilderness, a sensation of pure clarity penetrated my being, and the groundedness I had once felt ebbed back into me. I brought my feet to a halt to tarry one final moment in the ethereal embrace of the forest. Looking down, I noticed that I had stopped in a puddle. I stared into the eyes of the reflection staring up at me from the rippling surface, and knew that I had been no transparent eyeball that day. The visions I had experienced, however preternatural, had been embodied – an interplay of my own humble presence and the divine presence of my environment.