Welcome,
Dear soul.
To this tuning in.
A tuning in to nature.
And to the natural world around us.
Here to soothe and support.
When life may feel like it is tuning you out.
Find your most comfortable position,
Sitting or laying down.
And allow your body to be held and supported now by the surface you have chosen.
Gently close your eyes.
Take a slow breath in.
And breathe out slowly.
Again,
Breathe in.
And release.
In this moment,
You are tuning in because something in you longs to be seen.
And to belong.
Gently.
And simply.
To be seen.
There is an ache in that.
A quiet one.
Sitting among people,
Standing among people.
And feeling like no one knows you were there.
A longing to belong.
To feel at home in your own life.
Allow that feeling to come forward now.
Don't push it down.
Just let it be what it is.
You are allowed to feel it.
Now,
Feel the ground beneath you.
The surface holding you.
The weight of you welcomes.
Beneath you.
Beneath where you lay or sit is the Earth.
And below this earth,
Roots.
And a forest waiting for you.
Enter the forest now.
Feel the forest around you.
The air is cooler,
Softer,
Rich with the scent of bark and soil of green and growing.
Light shifts,
Shimmering,
Filtered through branches high above you.
As you look up and around you,
You are surrounded by trees.
Trees growing in circles,
Growing alone.
Growing wherever their seeds fell.
Not planted by order or plan.
Some tall and straight.
Some bent by years of wind.
Some wide,
Some slender.
No tree the same.
Yet all of them belonging to this forest you stand in now.
Hear the whispers of the trees through the breezes that whisper through them.
You are welcome here,
In this forest,
Where no one has to earn or prove their place.
These trees remind you to grow where you are rooted.
To tune in to the belonging of trees within this forest.
Feel that for a moment.
Belonging just because you are here.
Now choose a tree.
One that you are drawn to.
A tree that feels familiar somehow.
Walk toward it.
Stand before it.
This tree has grown here.
Rooted here for a very long time.
Notice its trunk,
Solid,
Weather,
Strong.
This trunk carries the marks of every season it has lived through.
Every storm.
Because storms have come.
Winds have torn through this forest.
You can see it in the branches.
Some bent,
Some broken.
Some grown in new directions.
The branches feel every wind of change.
They sway.
Deep in.
They sometimes break.
At the trunk stands.
And the roots hold.
This tree has weathered what the sky has sent.
And it is still here.
Still standing.
Still growing.
And it is not only strong.
It is generous.
Lean in.
And look closer.
In its branches,
Birds have built their nests.
Life shelters here.
Critters move along that spark.
Make their homes in its hollows.
This tree is not just standing in the forest.
It is home.
Without trying.
Without performing.
Simply by being what it is.
And look.
The light finds it.
Through all the other trees,
Through all the branches and leaves above.
The sun finds this tree.
Lands on its park.
Warms it.
Seize it.
And at night,
The moon does the same.
Soft silver light settling on its branches.
The tree does not reach for the light.
It receives it.
It is seen by the sun.
It is seen by the moon.
It has always been seen.
Now place your hand on its trunk.
Feel the bark beneath your palms.
Breath.
And warm.
Palm of your hand is connected to the heart of you.
Feel the connection.
As you touch this tree.
Feel the life inside it.
The quiet pulse of sap rising.
A heartbeat.
You can almost hear.
A heartbeat.
You can feel This tree sees you.
It does not look away.
Does not judge.
Does not ask you to be more or less or different.
It stands.
And it witnesses you.
Just.
As you are.
And here.
Beneath your feet.
Something is happening that you cannot see.
The roots of this tree reach deep into the earth.
And they do not stop at this tree.
They connect.
Underground.
To the roots of other trees.
A network.
An invisible holding.
Trees in a forest share nutrients through their roots.
They support each other.
They send what is needed to the ones who are struggling.
You can feel alone above ground.
While being held beneath it.
Belonging is invisible.
But it is real.
It has always been real.
Now lean back against your tree.
Feel it supporting you.
Your spine against his trunk.
Its strength behind you.
You are not standing alone.
Your Astounding Imam.
And there is a world of difference between the two.
Breathe here.
Feel the forest around you.
The quiet company of trees.
The birds above.
The roots below.
The light finding its way through.
All of it holding you.
All of it seeing you.
You have always belonged here.
Not because you earned it.
Not because you proved it.
Because you are alive.
Because you are here.
Because you grew and are growing where you are planted.
And that has always been enough.
You were always enough.
Take a deep breath in now.
Let it go.
Feel the ground beneath you.
The roots beneath the ground.
Feel the tree at your back.
Steady,
Patient,
Witnessing.
Feel a forest around you,
Standing with you.
Not asking anything of you.
Here you are seen.
You have always been seen.
By the sun,
By the moon.
By the earth beneath you.
By the trees that stand with you.
And by the quiet knowing inside your own heart.
That you belong.
Gently bring your awareness back to the room around you.
Feeling your body.
And the heart and soul it holds.
Wiggle your fingers.
And your toes.
When you are ready,
Softly open your eyes.
You are here.
You are seeing.
You belong.
And if you forget,
Step again into the forest,
Inside and beside this belonging of trees.
Go gently,
Dear soul.
