In the early morning several young fox cubs play in the meadow in front of the house. Crouching, stalking, pouncing on each other they roll and tumble through the clover. On the opposite side of the house, a doe grazes with three, yes three, spotted fawns. It’s cool yet this morning, the heat of the afternoon just a promise as I tie my shoes and get ready for my walk.
I love my walks in the woods. As John Muir said “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” I find that no matter how troubled I am, if I spend enough time in my woods, in my forest, I can find at least a moment of peace. I can get down to that one place inside of me that is connected to the earth, to the trees, to the water and the sky. That place that doesn’t worry about anything but just appreciates what I am blessed to be surrounded with.
Sure, it takes some preparation to get there. I do after all live in a modern world. I cover myself with bug spray (ugh), a necessary evil but preferrable to Lyme disease which I’ve already experienced. Protection against predators goes on my hip. The bears, wolves and coyotes won’t harm me, but there are some humans who might. Reluctantly I put my phone in my pocket, just in case. Pink ball cap on my head, walking stick in my hand, I head off.
The foxes have left the meadow, and as I walk down the path into the forest a dragonfly flits on papery wings in front of me, landing first on a white petal of a daisy then on the fiery orange of an Indian paintbrush. The blooms are gone off the raspberry bushes, their white blossoms replaced with the beginnings of what looks to be a good crop of berries this year. I always love to see the dragonflies. Not only do they eat mosquitos, but they are a symbol of change and adaptability, transformation. I’m always a little transformed when I am in the woods, how could you not be?
When I watch the sunlight play through the leaves on the trees, and see the difference it makes in the colors of green, from a pale translucence to a deep, almost black, it can begin to transform my anger to sadness. I can begin to pity those who forget that there are things much more valuable than money. Love, concern for others, the peace you get surrounded by friends, knowing others are there for you no matter what. Those things are valuable. When I see ferns wave gently back and forth in the breeze, as if they are waving me forward, my fear begins to transform into acceptance. What will happen will happen. There are so many beautiful moments during a walk in the woods, if you pay attention. Each moment, each second of beauty, transforms and changes me. It removes a tiny piece of the ugliness that has built up in my life over the last year. It reminds me that there is so much more to life than the pettiness and hatred of others, than courtrooms and lawyers, than fear and lies. It replaces that ugliness with tiny pieces of joy.
I laugh when a startled mamma turkey and her brood scurry down the path in front of me, the chicks’ little legs cycling as fast as they can to get out of my way. Why they don’t simply go into the weeds, I don’t know. I stop walking so they can safely hide. I pick a few daisies. I’ll put them in a vase on my desk as a reminder of my walk during the day if life starts to get to me again. A tiny piece of joy.
Daydreams of the Soul 