I like to traipse through my beloved forest paths for the exercise as well as whatever it is that the forest offers me—mostly unnamable offerings, but also: A time to clear my head and aura. A time to think—or not to think about life stuff. A time for idea generation.
And my forest walk is a time to notice the sights and sounds of the forest. For instance, the birds are pretty loud right now: Today, a pileated woodpecker yelled right after I passed by, which both startled and delighted me as to how close s/he was. I often hear a duet of great horned owls song in the early morning or late afternoon—the female a higher pitch than the baritone hoo hoo HOO hoo hoo of the guy. Twitters (the natural kind), and tappings and scratchings and rustlings—I have to stop every so often to take it in.
On one of these pauses to listen to woodpecker tapping, I noticed 2 seasonal sightings: Looking up, the first green blooms of false azalea proclaimed, “Yup, it’s spring!” Looking down, the small nettle leaves claimed their space—a sign of where to avoid running into come summer. What I also noticed amongst all the spring newness and growth was this:
The leftover leaves that had fallen last Fall were now mere skeletons. Gone were the bright colors—only the brown outlines of leaf veins reminded me what sort of tree they fell from. As I gazed at the remains, I found myself in deep respect for nature’s cyclical changes.
I bowed my head and said thank you to the leaves that had been, and how they now will feed the new growth.
As well, I said thank you to the new growth and the promise of life to be.
While in this state of gratitude, I said thank you to all I had personally let go of in the last year in my own life cycle: homes, ideas, people, habits, attitudes, and thoughts which no longer served me. All were important to me at one time, all needed to go.
I took notice how the old fed the present new ideas, new home, and new habits that best serve me now. It was good to notice the new creations as well as what led up to them.
I hope you note the good in your life now, while saying thank you to your past.
blessings,
Elke
PS! I'm offering new classes, including a Spirit Journey series: see ElkesPage.com for details.
Spirit Journey series: One day workshops, all located at my office sanctuary:
April 22: Journey through the Medicine Wheel
May 20: Journey through the Chakras
June 16: Journey with the Animal totems