Without my noticing, the tight leaf buds have completely unfurled. The whole neighborhood is green again. The colorful clouds of flowering trees have passed, replaced by full green canopies with a carpet of fallen blossoms beneath them. The laggard dogwoods are still in bloom, but fading. The azaleas, Southern charmers, started blooming last week. Their intense reds and pinks vibrate with the energy of the summer that will soon be upon us.
A happy chorus of birds and the early morning light helps me greet the day a little earlier. The busy-ness of spring activities helps me fall into bed early and drop into immediate sleep.
I'm feeling a little scattered, like the fallen blossoms. And though the green is welcome, it is also making me feel a little lost.
Yesterday I took a hike in an unfamiliar park, and I got completely turned around. Beside the asphalt path was a mulched trail through the wet woods, which I followed. The broad leaves of skunk cabbage were growing next to fiddleheads about to unfurl. I was enjoying the green in an unconscious way while I listened intently on my iPod to the talking heads dissect the news of Osama Bin Laden's death.
Without paying much attention, I followed several forks in the path until I realized that I couldn't orient myself. The dense green canopy blocked out the sun and the view of my original path. I tried to retrace my steps, but every trail looked the same. I kept walking and eventually reached a private road to homes nestled deep in the woods. I followed that to a subdivision of gracious homes, and then to a narrow country road that led to the main road and back to my car.
Being lost was a strange feeling after following my familiar paths for so long. One moment I was sure-footed and confident, and the next moment I felt alone and hesitant, reliant on very rusty skills. (And isn't it funny that when you're lost, suddenly there is no one around to give you directions? And my smartphone with its navigation app was back in the car.) It forced me to follow my instincts and to take a zoomed-out view of my situation to figure out where I was. I think I may apply that lesson to my creative wanderings, and to my life as a whole.
I hope you are having better luck navigating your wanderings this spring.
5 comments:
such a great post, Pat
I could see & smell all those flowers & trees, with your words
ah, getting lost. It really breaks our limits, right ?
it sure is a good thing to get lost sometimes, specially in thoughts, or creatively speaking, but getting lost for real is stressful. (well I don't like it very much) You should wear a little compass on a keyring, when you get out in nature.
xoxox
I think this might be one of my favorite posts! I'm not sure why except that I felt like I was walking with you. I was transported... and would it be possible to buy an 8x10 print of the top photo?
Getting past the uncertainty and taking a "zoomed-out view" - I like this thought very much.
I experienced this very thing - lost in the woods - AT NIGHT - and this is a perfect description of the process that allowed me to find my tent!
I once had this experience with my children, the most difficult thing pretending not to be lost. Here in the UK though, a country that's so small, it's usually possible to hear a clue somewhere, such as car or train traffic. We followed road noise to where we could find our car.
I too love your descriptions, they always put us right there with you. Glad "we" found our way back ;)
Jx
Beautiful photography and beautiful writing.
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