Canopy
Lay under the leafy canopy
In a bed of green
My body on the ground
Part of life’s lovely dream
Witnessing the wind
And its gentle play
Among the verdant leaves
As the trees began to sway
And as I lay there looking up
Upon the deep dark ground
I heard the woodland speak
And the world was singing all around
It took my battered heart
And smoothed the jagged edge
And there I was a falling
From its’ rocky ledge
Through the broken places
Down back through the dark
Through story’s broken bones
And terrains’ rough furrowed bark
Through the tangled roots
And that rich woody earth
There is no perfect pathway
To find ones’ own self-worth
The land it does not ask
The land it does not take
I am of the body
Just life lived for life’s sake
Lay under the leafy canopy
In a bed of green
My body on the ground
Part of life’s lovely dream
Forest Bathing Forest Medicine Eco Therapy
Looking at the layering of leaves and the shape of the sky in between. The depth of colours, the light and the shade. Is every leaf the same colour green? Oak and sycamore, hazel and beech living side by side. They have stretched out their limbs and leaves face up to the sky. They bask in the sun. As I breath in, they breath out, as I breath out, they breath in.
We are so used to our ground bound existence that it is all too easy to forget what sits above our heads. We develop tunnel vision and forget all else. The canopy is a different world. This is the domain of trees, insects and birds plus a few animals.
Tree Teaching
Looking up to the leaves above the common concerns of men, takes one out of one’s own world, and one’s own concerns. Up there the leaves have opened themselves up to the sun and rain. They capture the heat and the light then they are washed clean by the rains. They give shade to the earth and its creatures, and food for thought for the poets among us.
Look up, look up. Look beyond your nose to somewhere up above your head where your heart soars. If you want to know what unbounded freedom looks like see the birds soar, if you want to know what faith looks like see the squirrels leap, if you want to know what being fully present, owning your space and being of service looks like look up to the trees.
Lie down on the ground, let go for a moment and gaze up.
Connecting With The Canopy
Connect for a couple of minutes. You might need to turn the volume up.
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