The Gift

The weather was especially beautiful last Friday.  After returning home from work, I decided to go for a hike at a local state park.  It's a small little park with two trails, one leading to a big waterfall and the other trail to a smaller one.  I opted for the smaller falls, for there is a tree that lays across the creek at the bottom of the falls where you can sit and enjoy looking up at the falls.  I spent some time here, reconnecting with nature after a long, cold, and snowy winter.  It felt nice to be outside and to hear the sound of the water rushing down the falls and the wind in the bare trees.  This part of the trail is a major thoroughfair, so hikers wonder by quite frequently and I wanted to be alone.  I decided to hike back up to my car, daydreaming of a time when we will own our own piece of land, where I can get to know all the trees and be truly alone and in a place that's quiet.  The sun was so soft and warm, peeking through the tall trees.  I didn't truly want to leave the park yet for I didn't feel that my comuning was complete.  I was drawn off the trail path and toward a particulary large tree, that would hide me from the rest of the world.  As I approached the tree, I noticed at it's base that it had a root chair of sorts, so I asked if I could sit with him for a while.  I did.  I sat with the huge tree trunk supporting my head, the wind blowing my hair, and looking up into the sunlit sky.  I silently ask the tree if he is glad for spring?  Was it a particularly hard winter?  Did the sound of the person's chain saw echoing through the park bother him?   I had come to him for silence and an effort to clear my mind and feel the energy of the earth.  And as my questions ran out, and my mind cleared, I could hear his anwers and feel his vibration through my back.  I was re-charged, energized and at peace.   I got up to leave, standing to face the tree and give him a Namaste.  I placed my forehead to his trunk and thanked him.  As I opened my eyes for an offering of some sort, a lovely stone maybe, to give him in thanks, I noticed that he had given me a gift.  It was a dried little flower seed pod of sorts.  The one in the picture above.  I felt honored and so secure in the thought that all living things recognize and need each others love.  I wished that I could feel this peaceful, focused and happy all the time.  What a gift to achieve this in a park in the middle of a busy town.  I look forward to being in the country, surrounded by trees that have become my friends.