In some need of quiet time in nature, I went on a meander in my local woodland. My intention was to find some hope of spring amongst the grey and drizzle, and of course the woodland always provides gifts, answers and more questions...
On the surface, the woodland seems shutdown and in the stillness of winter, but by wandering at a slow pace and syncing my heartbeat with hers, Mother Nature showed me glimpses of what she has been working on in her time of wintering. At first, I was only noticing the soft moss jackets on the ancient trees, which pulled me in to stroke every one of them, but as my thoughts shifted to the background and my heartspace became my navigator I started to see the signs of new life.
Beech seedlings were pushing up amongst the leaf litter and bramble leaves were starting to unfurl, but suddenly when finding myself amongst the wilds of the ancient wood, the intention was no longer to find new life, but just to embrace life!
I stood under the boughs of a very old beech tree, with her seedling, so fresh green and innocent between my feet. It felt strangley profound as I stood in this moment, with the only motion being the rise and fall of my breath and the gentle patter of rain. In my stillness, I observed a goldcrest flitting through the fallen wood and I could see right through the hole in the holly tree out to another world.... (Or at least, the grazing ponies on the waterlogged heath).
These trees are often known as fairy trees and believed to be a portal to another world! But before I was enticed there, something dropped behind me and snapped me from my meditive state. I wandered once more, noticing weird and wonderful fungi, forgotten items and etched messages and intentions from ancestral woodland wanderers.
Then I came across a bare piece of land around a dead, standing holly. On closer inspection, it was obviously an old rutting site with antler rubbed marks on the tree and deer slots in the ground.
I left the woodland realising my intention was to find signs of spring, but Mother Nature is far more intuitive than me and sent me on my way FEELING the signs of nature. Replenished, purified and renewed.
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