She felt thunder in the earth . It came on so suddenly that she lost her breath . The blood was
racing through her veins and she was , both , frightened and excited .
The instantaneous silence magnified the anticipation .
What was coming ? What was the thundering earth going to bring ?
She stood , her breathing light , and wondered about the life of this bird . A seemingly sweet
Red Robin that had kept coming into view . It reminded her of some sort of a dance . But what
dance might this be ? The forest has a secret life she thought and what will it reveal to me
today ?
Glimmers of sunshine streaming through the trees in places . It was hopeful and playful . It
made her smile . She felt , suddenly, like twirling about . Then the Robin , startled by
something unseen , flapped it’s wings rather furiously and it frightened her as well .
The Mysteries of the forest began opening up . revealing marvelous bits of life . Beautiful ,
winged creatures flying between the trees while vibrantly decorated butterflies danced amongst
the sleeping rocks . The songs of the forest coming together like a chorus .
As she walked her awareness of the unique harmony of forest life expanded
and felt it as an invitation to delve deeper into understanding herself as well . oooh just then…
she caught a glimpse of a Red Robin on the path .
She walked with purpose now feeling fit and paying attention to the muscles in her legs . She
thought about how being physically fit was a comfort to her . It nurtured a sense of
independence . It lulled her into a place of confidence , however misleading .
Sometimes she liked to stop along the path and try to breathe it all in . The
longevity of some of the trees and the delicate nature of the smaller blooms optimistic in their
struggle to grow . Glancing at the ground and wondering about the exposed roots of a tree.
Does the tree , somehow , sense it’s vulnerability ? Does it find a way to protect itself by
strengthening itself in other ways ?
She was startled out of her thoughts by rustling sounds and the faint , deep
cries of …what is an animal ? Or perhaps simply the winds howling so as not to be left out of
the mysteries of the path .
……….to be continued
As she walked , meandering a bit at first , then remembering a dream from the night before
she quickened her pace . The feeling of it remained like a layer of fog and complemented by a
vague sense of worry.
Usually she took pleasure in remembering her dreams . It was fun to
assign meaning to characters in this other world . And often they for inspiration for a laugh or
two. But this one …well , this one was poking her the way her younger cousin used to do . It
was irksome and sporadic . Then there was a sudden rustling . Startling her so that she
gasped for a breath . She shook her head . Nothing to be concerned about . Still she looked
carefully about before continuing onward .
The air , while cold, was nearly comforting in how refreshing it felt . She felt a smile easing into
postion . “hmmmm. this will be a good day ” she thought . Stepping out and looking about .
She knew that she should hurry but somehow felt a sense of leisure in her heart .
The trees being so majestic and the scattered blooms of wild flowers looking sweet and
rebellious all at once gave her comfort .
Sometimes the scents of nature filling the air gave her cause to giggle gently with
childlike delight .
Nicely bundled for venturing out she paused at the door . It was a handsome door made of
Cypress with subtle carvings resembling leaves all around the inside frame . A scent of the
earth and of the days past seemed to emanate from it . Mostly it was a comforting scent
but there were those days when she found it irksome . Some days she would rather enjoy the
fragrance of the Ocean , imaging the feel of the salt in the air and the slight stickiness of it on
her skin . She loves to imagine .
She had heard , once , that there are some folks that think that time
using one’s imagination is a silly and pointless thing to do . ‘ I am so glad not to have met any
of those folks ” she thought , ” after all is it my joy .”
She placed her hand onto the door knob and took a deep breath bracing
herself the cold air on the other side of the door .
Startled and also anticipating a walk with some adventure in it , her thoughts turned to the
stone that had hit the window . It had reminded her that the stillness inside was a temporary
state and that the wildness of nature has much say on any given day .
She liked feeling close to the trees and to the sky . And to the elements has they came …
and then went . She once mentioned this to a stranger some years ago and he merely looked
at her with nothing much to say . A pity she thought since it could have been a delightful
conversation .
“oops” there I go again she thought , wandering in my thoughts . This day won’t last forever …
blchapman 