Like anything else in life, the forest has its dark places. There are unexpected shadows, wrong turns, impossibly tangled brambles, and paths that seem to lead nowhere. There are gullies laid deeply with dangerous, still water and dank sections thick with biting, tearing insects. There are odd sounds and growls, shining eyes hiding in thorny underbrush, and quick, furtive movements that indicate one is being followed but show nothing upon inspection. There are screech owls and bats and fishers. There is everywhere the smell of decay, some pleasant as of fallen leaves and some not-so-pleasant . . . as of dying animals.
Yet that heavenly place I often speak of and where I spend a
good amount of my life is the same place as the one described above. That place I’ve told you of with fairies,
dragons, enchanted creatures, magical mushrooms, and wild food for the taking
is the same place as the one with shadows, empty paths, pursuing insects, and
animals with sharp fangs. They exist
together in the same place at the same time.
The difference is not in the creatures of the woods, not in
the elemental beings, not in the paths, and not in the display of light or
dark. The difference is in me. I am the one who chooses. I am the one who takes the path and finds the
treasure or the hunger. I am the one who
remembers her survival skills or runs from the predators. I am the one who finds fairies and sunshine
and soft moss, or dank water and thorns and decay.
I am the one who makes the choice, and it is the same for
you--wherever your forest may be, even if it is in a city. For darkness and predators and insidiousness
are everywhere in this world, and we can fall victim to them or we can stand up
and say, “No!”
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| You can always find the sun, even in the darkest forest. |
When the darkness is all around you, and it will be at times
because that is part of life, do not panic and do not despair. When the shadows crowd in on you, do not give
up or fall down. Remember that you make
the choices and the sun always shines, even if you cannot see it. Look up into the canopy above you--be it
trees or concrete--and say out loud again and again, “I am brave! I am brave!”
And you will be brave.
And the sun will shine again. You
may forget about it at times, but you can never lose it. Even in the darkest forest, you can command
an opening in the canopy above you. The
sun will shine again because you are brave.
