Sunday
Oct102010
Walk With Me
October 10, 2010 * * * * * Posted by: Marcie 
Come…walk with me.
Don’t hold my hand.
Don’t say a word.
Just be.
Listen – to the silence of the forest. To the soft crunch of pine needles. To the birds as they sing to us their autumn song. To the squirrels as they chatter busily amongst themselves….gathering…stocking their winter stores. To the bubble of the brook. To the trees and the restless rustle of their leaves. They whisper.
See – the colors as they fade and change and transform from deep green to another. The trees' roots as they sprawl like spidery webs of tangled veins. The shadows and how they dance themselves around the light. The golden leaves as they fall..drifting softly..sometimes swirling and spiraling….landing silently on the forest floor. The water’s reflections..twinkling. The tiniest of mushrooms as they pop their short-lived heads.
Feel – the cool air..the warm sun..the unevenness of the ground on which we walk. Step lightly.
Taste – the apples ripe and ready. The acorns and chestnuts roasting. The nutmeg and ginger and cinnamon and spice.
Smell – the dampness of the cool earth. The autumn leaves as they burning somewhere in the far off distance. The sweet scent of this season. Just as it is. Today.
There are days - when the thoughts..the ideas.. the words – come easily. They flow. Almost and as if..they were coming thru me. Effortless. Like the sweet sound of soft music.
And then – there are those others. When I find myself stuck..and uninspired. When words elude me..and creative thoughts have all but disappeared. When my own voice can’t drown out those of the merciless internal judges and critics. When I just can’t.
It is on those days – that I find myself needing to turn it all off..to walk away…to disappear between the trunks of tall trees. To feel my small-ness among them..to be reminded of how broad and vast the universe truly is. To be renewed..restored..replenished.
It is there – where it is me who is asking the questions..and not them – that I can hush those innermost voices. Those howling demons. Those ones that criticize and doubt and ask more questions than for which I have answers. It is there that I find the space for the words..for the thoughts..for the creative imaginings.
Walking along a path..on a life’s journey..without any destination. Just walking. Nowhere to go..nowhere to be. Just here and now and completely present.
Come…walk with me.
Don’t hold my hand.
Don’t say a word.
Just be.
Reader Comments (15)
It's what I call an 'eternalized moment,' Marcie, when Time stands still. Mother Nature knows how to hold us close to her breast, breathing sweet-nothings into us to awaken our senses once again. Thanks for the reminder that we need only to step outside the din for a minute and...walk with you without a word. This is heaven, V and V alike.
yes, i would love to walk with you in the forest, but alas my health no longer allows photo outings, and your beautiful writing has once again made me a touch sad, thinking about things i try not to think about...anymore.
shhhh!
My husband and I try to do this at least once a week. Perfect words describing exactly how I feel. Thanks so much!
the joy of being comfortable with one's self, open to possibility, inspired by the grandeur and mystery of nature. nicely said.
another beautiful post !
... thanks for sharing
A restorative walk, a commune with nature, definitely helps to shake out the cobwebs of the mind. A lovely, inviting, and contemplative post.
I feel the same, in the woods. I always have. You made me think of what I just read in bird by bird about writer's block, how she sees it not as a block but as an emptiness that needs to be filled. Out there, in the woods, your senses are filled, all of them. And this past weekend, I was there, walking along, with you. Just being. I love this.
Nature is just the best place to be. For inspiration. When you're stuck. For happiness and sadness. We don't have a real forest here, like the ones I knew from Germany. But lots of gorgeous nature. Sometimes I just walk up the hill in my favorite place and sit there and be still. I just love it - and wish I'd do it more often.
A beautiful post.
Were you silently beside me Sunday morning as I walked around the lake? I feel as if we might have shared that experience...
I will gladly go and keep quiet company.
Oh gosh, how lovely :-)
Just perfect!
Marcie, you're fortunate to have such a place to lose yourself in. Beautiful photo and graceful writing. I completely relate to your creative difficulties - probably 99% of writers and artists could - but am happy that you have times when everything flows beautifully. Obviously that's what happened for this one.