“The woods are lovely, dark and deep.”
-Robert Frost from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening
 |
| St. Johnsbury VT in the distance from the Town Forest trailhead. 8pm. Snowing. |
Dearest
Readers,
Two
weeks ago, I joined a dozen members of the St. Johnsbury Vermont Shambhala
Meditation Center for a night walk and meditation in the town forest. I could
not use my camera on the trek, but I returned this week during the day to photograph
my experience in hindsight. Daylight,
sadly, destroys the sense of night wonder.
Bob
Taylor, Buddhist teacher and survivalist led the way in silence, single file
and without flashlights. It was around 8:00 PM at the trailhead. The
temperature had risen from near zero to the teens. Somehow the snowy path
reflected enough natural light to provide visibility. Footing was slippery, but
I kept my eyes on the feet of the person in front of me as we climbed to the
top of the forest trail. Boots crunched on the snow, arms swished against nylon parkas
and snow pants.
We stopped at a clearing near the top, surrounded
by a circle of very tall pines.
Each
of us picked a favorite tree, and sat in the snow on insulated pads for perhaps
10 minutes of contemplation. I felt
intensely the smooth and comfortable tree bark against my back, as I settled
against it into a mound of soft snow.
Light
flurries tickled my face as I gazed up my tree into one-point perspective. My
walk-mates dissolved into the darkness of the forest next to their trees. I felt alone, protected, nestled within the
strength of the pines.
My
senses were on high alert–eyes, ears and touch. I experienced a sensation of
danger, excitement, and solidarity with the forest. Those tall enduring black
sentinels held back unknown and imaginary creatures wintering within the solid
darkness behind our circle of trees.
Bob
reminded us that the winter landscape is beautiful and cruel. We dressed for
the cold, and showed respect for the external conditions of the landscape.
Then we
rose from our silent nests and walked out of the forest, down the trail, and back
out
into the world of people and things to do.
*******
Bob our
leader gave us four contemplations to ponder in the wilderness. There are many answers.
- How can contact with the non-human natural world be mind protection?
- How can the natural elements be a transmission of unconditionality?
- How can feeling connected with nature be an expression of good human society?
- What is "pure perception” and how is it related to bravery?
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