The Clearing

The inspiration for this post came from a visit to La Verna Preserve, on the Pemiquid peninsula.  It was an unseasonably warm Saturday in January that was just begging for a hike.  I was surprised to find so much more than a good airing and stretch of my legs.

After about twenty minutes of walking, the landscape took hold of my attention, tugged at  my sleeve and  spoke to me.  There was a story in these woods that was being written in my head. A thought would appear and then  a particular scene would become more vivid. I would take a picture to capture it and follow the trail as the story unwound in my mind.

An old stone wall, carpeted in moss, solid and fixed in place seemed like a good metaphor for the mind.  How entrenched and rigid it can be in its beliefs, seemingly immovable and unalterable.  This life asks much of us and stone wall minds create much suffering.

The forest floor was just cluttered with blow down. It naturally occurs in the woods when humans don’t come in and clear it out.  I was taken aback at how much “stuff” there was that  laid helter skelter all around me.  This clutter seemed very much akin to the mind debris with which I am so familiar.

The tumor like burls erupted on trees and others toppled over carrying in their roots  debris and rocks from the soil’s surface.

How our minds struggle to stay upright and functioning, so that we can live our lives in upstanding and standing up ways.

  

A little further along, I saw this stand of trees that were filled with’ witches broom’.  It’s a formation of twig bundles on the end of branches which in some cases is due to environmental  stresses and can eventually weaken the tree.  I listened to the voice telling  me to recognize  these brooms and to know the way they weaken me.  I know when and why they come.  I could prune them, tie them into bundles and use them to begin the clearing out of my own dead wood.

An open wood lay before me, as if the trees could finally fill their lungs and take a deep breath.  I joined them.

A clear brook carved its way through the forest discovering its course as it tumbled over rocks and branches.  I felt hopeful and encouraged.  What often seems so impenetrable, can be set free to find its own way.

The fragile shale, splintering and splitting through the action of frost and thaw gave further evidence of change.  What a delight to come upon the view that was beginning to appear.  It spoke of possibility in all its forms.  It held out a hand that required a leap of faith.

Can we trust that we are strong enough to take that leap? Often the blockages to the clear open mind seem so large, solid. Graciously, enough space was left to see what  might be had with just a bit more effort; a prod to keep on opening our minds, moving out the boulders.

 

…for even just a brief glimpse of heaven makes it all worthwhile!

 

Thank you La Verna for the story you told me.