It's really hard to move beyond my recent trip to Italy...I'm still lingering in the haze of all that I experienced during my stay in Florence and Tuscany. You can read about my trip by scrolling down and going through the many posts I made while I was there.
For those of you who are ready for something new, here's an essay I wrote one summer that is still fitting to this day. I hope it encourages you to explore wilderness, however you find it.
Stepping into Beauty
It is early May and the call of wilderness begins in earnest, luring me to explore the bounty of fledgling beauty that is so common in spring. But where to go? The nearby hiking trails have become so familiar that I long to explore new terrain...to experience something that will challenge me at deeper levels of being. On a visit to a friend in the country, I spy a wooden sign that boasts of a nature trail I had not encountered before. Eager for adventure, I turn down a drive that leads into pristine forest. Already, I begin to feel the thrill of anticipation that often accompanies the exploration of unknown territory. A tingle of anxiety, tempered with joy, permeates my being.
Let us step for a moment into the forest. All at once, the canopy of green elicits a deep sigh...a welcoming, a coming home. Why did I wait so long to visit, to honor this beauty? What sort of punishment do I seek by withholding this treasure from my life? Another step, and the "civilized" world recedes from my mind. The maze and clutter of sight and sound fades, its presence drifting away from my thoughts. I gladly...willingly...release the hold of that world on my body, mind and spirit. I succumb to the nourishing, vibrant life of wilderness that surrounds me and becomes my new world.
As if there were tiny darts embedded in my skin, I feel the pinpricks of release as I move deeper into the world of cool, green trees...a wonderland of beauty and repose. My lungs fill easily with the lush, refreshing breath of green that the forest offers to me. My body automatically relaxes as I breathe deeper, and I move forward with an ease and grace that feels wholly natural...as it should be, here in the natural world.
I walk slowly, my steps measured and quiet, while I listen to the sounds of life around me. The soft flutter of leaves tugs at my attention, and I turn to watch the sway of young tree limbs dancing in the breeze. As the sunlight filters down upon the leaves, colors change from green to yellow and back again...a chameleon effect that mesmerizes me for a time. At my feet, I hear movement in the carpet of dry leaves, but I cannot detect motion. Perhaps it is a snake, escaping from my intrusion into his space as he slithers back into his earthen home. Now and then, birds call to each other but remain hidden from view. As I reach a bend in the trail, a sudden flurry of wings betrays the presence of a wild turkey, who flies ahead...low to the ground...to hide in a dense thicket. I am not offended, knowing he is wise to hide from a species who often hunts his kind as prey.
As I walk further into the forest, I detect a singing sound that swells around me, pulling me toward a pond, home to a variety of wildlife. The sweet music of frogs lulls me into laughter, and I stand still to get the full effect of their chorus, afraid that my presence will still their humming vibrations. As I move closer to the pond, those frogs nearest to me dive from their lily pad perches into the pond, emitting a humorous squeal as they do, a warning sign to other frogs of possible danger. Insects skate upon the surface of the pond, creating a comical display that amuses me with its simplicity. I sit for a while on my portable camp-stool and watch the life of the forest, soaking in the beauty that surrounds me...the sweet simplicity that soothes my soul.
Soon I am eager to continue my journey through the forest, and I climb the path upward, following a ridge that is lined with aged stone formations. Here the forest changes, and woodland flowers come into view. Splashes of purple and white wildflowers, framed by the forest-green background, strike such a chord in my heart that it becomes clear to me what is meant by the term "aching beauty". And then, when I turn to look behind me, I feel an overwhelming sense of awe at the spectacular vision of cool greens and pastel hues that I behold. All of this was created, quite naturally, by the earth. There is no need to perfect such beauty, though there may be a need to witness and protect it. For now, my witness must be enough.
Once again, I sit and watch the life of the forest, to soak in the beauty and store it in my mind for future reference. Here, where there is no time, there is time enough for everything, and everything is in its place. As I witness the life around me, I gather its essence into my heart, and I feel centered again. My soul is restored by the rhythm of life that abides here. I carry this core of life and beauty with me when I leave the forest, trusting it to guide me in the weeks to come, when I cannot take time to visit the forest in person.
The days pass, and May turns into June. Suddenly the weather turns to heat-filled days, with nights that offer little respite from the searing temperatures. The forest and its cool, green beauty continues to inspire me, but now I feel the urge to explore summer terrain. I discover a bike path on the edge of town that takes me through several miles of prairie...an urban wilderness that delights me as much as the forest. As my walk begins, I journey through a corridor of trees, now swarming with thousands of cicadas. Their droning soon becomes a din that overwhelms me, distracting me from the graceful movements of a heron as it alights on a small pond. I do not wish to live as these cicadas must...burrowing into darkness shortly after birth, where they remain for 17 years, only to die within a short time of their emergence.
I move away from the noise, beyond the corridor of trees. All at once, the path opens onto a vast prairie, edged to the north and south by ridges several hundred feet above me, rimmed in limestone. To the right is a field of waist-high grasses, undulating in waves blown by southerly winds. The green-gold beauty of the grasses captures my attention, and I stand in mute appreciation, oblivious to the heat. At my core, the image of the green forest cools me, body and soul. Moving along the path, I encounter a hillside of cascading purple and white wildflowers, and their lush growth quenches the thirst for beauty that drew me to this site. Further along, I discover wetland prairie where red-winged blackbirds make their homes among rushes and cattails, and meadowlarks serenade me with sweet music. Oh, to find paradise so close to home! Possibilities seem endless once again.
For the hour of my walk, I am totally alone, and glory in the wealth that wilderness has to offer me here. As I walk, I feel energized with new life, and ideas bubble to the surface of my mind in profusion. This is the gift that nature always gives to me...this revitalization of spirit, of the creative life that resides deep within me. I know of no better way to restore my soul than to step into the beauty of nature. Whatever the climate or the circumstance of my life, the earth awaits my appreciation...and for my efforts to know her, she replenishes me with the bounty of her soul.
© Marybeth Bethel 1998
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