Forest Therapy Sit Spot Reflections

“I welcome you to follow me on a wander from here, using your awakened senses to simply notice what’s in motion along the way.” It was a still day yesterday as I walked. The cold air bit my face, but it seemed that it was my movement, not the wind’s, that allowed that touch. There was no breeze. It was uncannily silent. No bird or beast was heard, and I saw no trace of any animal. Even the grasses and the leaves were unmoving. Other than myself, the only thing that moved was the sun as it slowly rose, changing from a deep red stain on the horizon to a warm orange ball. And the river still babbled and trickled, though muted by the thin sheet of ice that lay on top like a cold blanket. But then, in the midst of this stillness, a hawk flew from a tree, and using currents of the wind (unseen and unfelt by me) high above, circled and glided magnificently overhead. And as if that were an invitation, the breeze started to gently blow and a single remaining brown leaf on a maple tree flapped i...

  “What if what was happening in this moment was exactly the right thing? What would it feel like to trust that flowers bloom at the precise moment they are ready?” I meditated on this scroll activity actually a little while ago, but wanted to take some time to reflect on it before writing anything down. And I think that I still don’t have an answer. The question seems to show the divide between the human and the more-than-human world. The flowers, the trees and all the plants and animals seem to accept the world as it is. They roll with the punches, as the saying goes. There is a quiet acceptance of life and of the impermanence of things. And there seems to be a peace that goes with that. In the human world, I want more control. I want to order my life, and build security and permanence. A pastor once was talking about time and discussed the concepts of kronos  and kairos.  The former is the passage of time in orderly chunks, which we follow but can order our lives aroun...