The majesty of Redwood Forests in California never fails to impress me. It is what lingers long after my visit that has me pondering the feeling they impart. If you had occasion to walk among these ancient ones it may be that you felt it too. There is a gentleness that is combined with strength or solidness that permeates not only me but the entire forest in which they dwell.
I am finding difficult to express in words something that can only be experienced. Here among trees, that have lived for longer than we can imagine, a serenity fills the air. Some of these giants have been here for 1000 years or more. The sensation of their presence and their lifespan has me reflecting on the relatively short lifespan of humans. It seems that we are continually busy, nearly always reactive and wound up in swirling emotions.
If you stand in one place for a 1000 years maybe something happens that gives life to what I feel when I am with these old trees. For sure some things fall away. Striving toward some goal, even the light, is a moot point when you’ve been in the heavens for so long. The push and pull of life, the reactions and emotions, give way to being. Maybe that’s what I feel with the Redwoods. A deep presence of being. They seem to just be and in that being I wonder if they are connected to all life, past, present and maybe even future. Oh sure, there are teachings throughout the world that instructs us that we are all connected in this way. The difference I think is that the ancient Redwoods know it and live it. Does it take 1000 years to learn to be? I plan to spend more time with these sacred beings to discover all I can.
