January 26, 2021
We’ve openly discussed how much life has changed. These past eleven months have been brutal. Let it also be known that it’s more than just us. The atmosphere has evolved. Sure, we’d all like to locate the single key that’ll free us from a lifestyle we didn’t choose. The wilderness remains untamed. Even before Covid took its mighty swing at us I spent a lot of time in my forest. Conversations fed by a willingness to have a relationship. To be present with availability. To stand with the long grasses, hairy vines, slow moving stream and birds of many. Tuning into each of their energies has its fair share of healing. What brings me to this story is a single sentence or thought that was constantly spoken while growing within the Black Belt life. Learn to love all living things. Not just humans. Not just the cool bugs. Not just a blossoming tree. Learn to love all living things. The human spirit finds great joy in running into the forest to take its energy. But what are you giving back? Any forest needs just as much love as we do. I remember meeting mine in November of 1992. Acid rain beaten. Thin with no essence of presence. It became my calling to replenish the soil with seventeen hundred seedlings. As trees grew so did life. The animals slowly made their way back into this very tiny dot on the map. Learn to love all living things. Sharing through all seasonal changes. Yesterday was a dark, gloomy, rainy day. But it didn’t keep me from the forest. We expect Mother Nature’s peace to fix us during storms. Why aren’t we present with them during theirs? The beauty of the forest is the creation of the story. In any park you visit. Any art gallery or place of creative energy. Open your arms to the empowerment of creation. Stop taking. Give. Allow all living things to help you define your unperfected circle of choice. Uncertainty has captivated the travelers we hold inside. No day since March has felt like a moment of release and relief. Until we learn to recognize the importance of healing. Visit a collection of trees. Put your mind and soul in moments of art moving forward. Learn to love all living things.