Illuminating the Path

The sound of flowing water from within the old growth forest reaches our ears before our eyes. As we approach, the air becomes slightly cooler, a little more humid. It’s early morning, and after spending the night within the tentative comfort of tent and the dark outside, we take the short hike to refill our water at the spring near our campsite.  The crisp early light pours in through the trees, lighting up the edges of the branches and leaves, and illuminating the morning mist of the forest.  The moss glows green and yellow. I can’t believe the vibrancy of its color.  The stark contrast of light and dark in the scene add to the drama of the performance. It’s as though the entire scenery laid out before me has been perfectly orchestrated for this moment. As if nature herself has been rehearsing this for moment for eons.  And therein lies the true magnificence of life’s architecture . Every moment, every scene has just as much value as the previous, as the next, has just as much value. This stage is continually changing, transforming. New saplings take root, bursting towards the sun. Trees young and old fall (much like us), decompose, and create new earth. Water rushes and then trickles, and then rushes again. Cycles upon cycles upon cycles. We, as humans, experience the same. Like nature our bodies, our lives are continually changing and transforming.  We have so much to learn from our ancient ancestors, the forest. The longer we spend in its presence, the more we get in touch with them, and ourselves.  We are reminded that we are nature.  We begin to return home.