A walk in the woods

Last Saturday, before the big rains came, we took a walk in Armstrong Woods. It is a wonderful grove of redwoods near us, and it was a perfect day for a walk in the woods. The air was pleasantly cool, still and quiet and being there filled me with a sort of peaceful expectancy.

I've been mentally returning to that walk all week, as I seek to invite some of that peaceful hopefulness back into my mind and soul. Looking over the political and cultural landscape of the US has got me down. As I've puzzled it over, what is really bothering me is this deep-seated selfishness that just seems to have taken hold and is crowding out any kind of meaningful discourse - about anything. I feel like real thought for future generations is conspicuously absent. It is like we think that if we can just cling to a past we believed worked for us, we can keep it in the present and it will continue indefinitely. But we can't and it won't. The world is changing in a lot of ways, and the best thing we can do is recognize this and work within the present circumstances and create a world that is meaningful and beautiful - to the best of our ability. But back to that walk in the woods...


One of the things I love most about the forest is the way it changes. A forest works because it changes. The biological and seasonal cycles of a forest bring renewal, life, everything that is good and needed. The last time we visited Armstrong Woods was in the summer, in the depths of our hot, dry season. The redwoods were a welcome respite from the sun and heat, but in the winter there is a richness and a depth that just isn't present in the summer - and I love that. Change in a forest is a beautiful thing. 


I also loved Cassidy's receptiveness to the beauty and wonder of this redwood grove. As we climbed up the East Ridge trail, she expressed particular interest in touching the luxuriously mossy trees growing at the higher elevations along the slope. I gave her two little twigs covered in a bit of moss and she carried them with her for the entire walk. 

I also discovered a small lone branch covered in spanish moss lying on the path and picked it up - much to her delight. Just carrying it along with me brought chuckles, but giving it a little shake now and again - pure squeals of innocent glee! Oh for the days when I could be touched and delighted by something as simple as a moss-covered branch. Those little laughs, that innocent joy, remind me of what is good and worth working for.