There is a beautiful, rolling wooded area with walking trails carpeted with nature’s compost of dead leaves and other natural debris. It is not far from where I live. I went this cloudy, cool morning to find a feeling of peace there. I had lost it.

The sound of my support companion (through my earbuds) was a soft, gentle meditation of a woman’s voice with tonal music bringing my energy to a vibrational match with her words and the music combined. This guide, the music, and the woods commenced my shift from an inexplicable anxiety that had ground its way in, disrupting my state of being. My chosen experience flowed like a gentle trickling creek rinsing my heart and mind free, whetting it in peace.

It did not happen instantly. It took some time to open from my constricted, defensive state. My walk through the woods flowed as did my new thoughts. And, gratefully, I could feel the transformation in my body, heart, and mind.

In time, I looked with deliberate attention to the trees. I looked up to see the tops shifting just a bit in a light breeze. I looked down to the multitude of roots that had the potential to trip me up! Tree roots thread through the forest floor in their freeform, seeking what is necessary for their survival; nutrients and water. But another key benefit of these anchors is that they hold-fast, creating a strong earth-bound connection to these majestic forms that extend skyward many feet above. Their core stands solid and upright. They do not have the ability of locomotion as we humans do.

Yet, they must deal with the elements of life that bombard them. The winds that can potentially uproot them or break their appendages. Flooding rains or parching droughts that can threaten their homeostasis. Seasonally, they lose their beautiful leafy clothes to adapt to hardship. Wildlife that gnaws at their bark stealing their protective coats. Burrowing little critters that tunnel with a slow erosion. Deep snows and driving sleet that challenge their strength to ‘weather the storm’. The weight of freezing rain that burdens their branching arms. Yet, there they stand with what life happens around them and to them.

And there I stood. Recognizing our differences. The tree roots grounded. The tree top playful with the winds of time. The trunk solid at its core from earth to sky. Responsive to meet the demands of life. Bombarded by life my roots were not grounded, my emotions scattered – stealing my playtime, and my core not straight or strong. So….I guess I went to walk among such teachers!

Do you ever stop to see who else you are living with and what lessons pass by unlearned? May gratitude sit within you and embrace your heart.