#350: When a Tree Falls

I love that many answers to life's questions can seemingly be discovered through nature's gifts. This descriptive note from Jaime makes me feel as if I'm right there in the woods with her, letting a wave of peace wash over me.  And how transformative that feeling can be if I immerse myself, fully engaging my body and my senses. What a wonderful escape it can be... to bask in the light, to breathe in the fresh air, and to be where my feet are planted, even if just for a few moments. 

- Amanda

When a Tree Falls

Sometimes I think letting go is just about coming to peace. I think it’s a somber exhale. A release. A quiet surrender. An acceptance. It feels like a low vibration. I forget that, too, it’s this amazing birthplace for something new. 

Lately I’m obsessed with forest gaps. I first became curious about them in Costa Rica. The rainforests are so incredibly dense and lush that natural tree falls are a vital part of the ecosystem. In these gaps the forest floor regenerates. Mosses and ground cover flourish. Sunlight once again reaches down low and shifts the directional pull of the plants. 

On my daily woods walks here, there are pockets in the forest where life is louder. The birds and the crickets come together in chorus. Fallen tree trunks become homes and playgrounds to snakes and chipmunks. Stumps left standing are stags for owls and others. Rotting wood returns a richness to the soil. And in these gaps I pause on my walks and look up in wonder. And I bathe in this light. In this letting go of what once was, to step into this glorious unknown of all that there’s now space for. This doesn’t happen readily in my head. But it’s immediately felt in my body. And I'm in constant practice and remembrance of this somatic listening. 

I recently read that it’s likely we’ve grown up in a culture that causes us to dissociate from our bodies and live predominantly in our head. And when we finally come back into this body - when we slow down to the incredible sensations of touch and taste and sound that we experience - it can be a psychedelic experience. I continue to believe all of our answers can be found here - in this body // in these trees - in communion.