I take a deep, cleansing breath, letting crisp clean air fill my lungs. As I exhale, my breath turns into wisps of cloud in front of me, like a piece of the sky brought to my level. When I take another breath in, I close my eyes and listen. I have come here for clarity, as I often do, and I am grounded in the present by the twittering songs of the birds flitting around their homes above me. I breathe, and I listen, beginning to feel the healing energy of the life growing around me. There is a stillness here that can’t be found in the regular places of my life, like work or even at home. Away from the distractions of phone and internet and other humans, I feel I can be my true self. I can just BE. No expectations, no assignments. Just me, just this place with its wild beauty.

I open my eyes, and they sting slightly from the cool air. I stuff my hands in my pockets for warmth and start walking, soothed further by the soft crinkle and crunch under my feet. The solid HERE-ness of this place makes my mind start to wander and to wonder. It is amazing that this sort of peace is just HERE, all the time, even when I’m swept up in the hustle and bustle of regular life. Even then, this place is here. This peace is waiting.

And yet, even though this place seems so still and quiet to me, it is teeming with life. It is a place of potential, of life and death. Growth and rot. A food chain; an ecosystem.

My thoughts continue in this way, a perfect break from the usual business of my mind, as I continue my hike. I travel further, deeper, letting myself get lost for a moment. Though never truly lost, as I follow the footsteps of others who have been here before. I wonder if they have also felt this peace that I feel now as I commune with this great place. As I head back towards the warmth and creature comforts of home, I try to keep this journey in my heart. I will need this place again, and it will be here waiting when I do.

That is one of the most comforting things about the forest.