When my family and I were moving from California to Tennessee, we decided to take a goodbye trip to Northern California. We worked our way up to San Francisco, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, and ended up on a small road leading to Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a magical fir-filled oasis with quiet walks and huge Redwood trees. After the fun and crowds of the city, the fresh contrast of this hobbit-like environment seemed to welcome our presence. Do you ever wonder if trees can feel human beings the way we feel them? I do. As we walked on the nature trail, a rich green fragrance surrounded us and almost seemed to carry the past, present and future through us in a manner that woke up my travel-worn brain to the possibility of some unknown experience. Nature creates a state of comfort and expectation in me that I have come to rely upon whenever I need rejuvenation.
Sometimes the feeling of inspiration is hard won, for example, when my husband, Wendell, and I hiked up to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite, California. It took an entire day to arrive to the cables where we would pull o
urselves up and over the smooth rounded rock to make our way to the breathless panoramic view overlooking Yosemite Valley. I thought of Ansel Adams and his climbing trips; he must have been loaded down with photography equipment. How did he manage to take those beautiful black and white photographs? Adams said, "I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite." When I gazed over to the wide expanse below, I knew that I did not know my destiny-at all. I knew that my future would continue to open to an ever-expanding reach that I could not shrink down to an understandable and manageable thought. No life formula came to me, just the idea of unlimited possibility. My choice then was to accept the unknown; manage my fear, and fight for the next trail to blaze. How free I felt!
urselves up and over the smooth rounded rock to make our way to the breathless panoramic view overlooking Yosemite Valley. I thought of Ansel Adams and his climbing trips; he must have been loaded down with photography equipment. How did he manage to take those beautiful black and white photographs? Adams said, "I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite." When I gazed over to the wide expanse below, I knew that I did not know my destiny-at all. I knew that my future would continue to open to an ever-expanding reach that I could not shrink down to an understandable and manageable thought. No life formula came to me, just the idea of unlimited possibility. My choice then was to accept the unknown; manage my fear, and fight for the next trail to blaze. How free I felt!While we remain actively engaged in the known, we have to learn to live peacefully with the unknown. Nature gives me strength to care about all those who are in pain while not being overwhelmed with empathy. In daily life, I imagine the trees surrounding me are friendly Ents who will rally to my corner under the most stressful situations- if only sincerely called upon. It is good to remember that we are not separate, not from nature nor from each other. Namaste
