A Quiet Place

Some time alone…

I went for a long hike today. This was one of those times when I had many things to sort out and found myself in the place where I feel most at home and most comfortable. It was a very good day and I come away feeling at peace and ready to make some of the changes that are calling to me. I’ve said before that the deep woods are my church and I spent today very close to God. I’d like to describe my church for you.

In Pennsylvania, the Appalachian Trail runs through a dense growth forest. As you hike along, you find yourself walking through so many shades of green. The feeling is like swimming under water in a cool clear spring; the sun filtered through the trees is the same as if it were reaching you through the water. As I walk along the trail, I come upon a huge stand of Rhododendron. They are past blooming but they cover the path and in places I find myself walking under a tunnel of the plants. It’s all so rich and quiet and I can feel it fill my soul. Off to my right I can hear water running as several creeks and rivulets work their way down the ridge to the valley below…there’s something about the sound of running water in the woods that is about as close to total peacefulness as you’ll ever get.

As I reach the ridge line, the woods begin to thin and the sky opens overhead. The day is clear and the sky looks as blue as a Robin’s egg. The trail leaves the woods briefly and I walk across an isolated meadow atop the ridge. The view that I get of the green wooded valleys and the nearby mountains is awe inspiring. The only sound that comes to me today is from the many birds along the trail. I know that they are just announcing their territory, but their songs are pleasant and add to the overall wonder and joy that I feel in being out here.

I spend so much of my time trapped in a cold and lifeless office. I wonder at the work I’ve done and the things that I’ve built. They are as nothing compared to the beauty and peace of the woods. I have been very successful in our modern world and have been deeply involved in much of the technology and science that we live by. I wonder sometimes if we haven’t lost our way, if we aren’t anesthetizing ourselves from the truth within and around us. I hope that the technology that I have wrought will ultimately fulfill it’s promise of freedom and allow us to get back to where we belong…to where we can find our inner peace and our inner truth.

Today, I will just thank God for the beauty of this path in the woods. I know where to go to escape the things in our world that drain me of my energy and my faith. I thank God for this opportunity to spend time within myself and to once more connect with that part of him that lives within me.