" In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
"I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better."
from Sleeping In The Forest by Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver
Reality is such a funny word, its meaning, and implication so powerful and influential. I often find myself unsure until I spend time in nature, in silence, sitting on a log deep in the forest or walking barefoot in the froth of lapping waves. The Clarity found in nature is a reality different from the hustle and bustle of a city. It is a reality that is rich, complex, and symbiotic in contrast to the one-dimensional feeling of the built environments of towns and cities. It is a wonder how the natural world gives us such insight to the lamentations of our human dilemmas. To sit and listen to what is, is the beautiful gift of digging our toes into the welcoming earth.
