When my husband suggested we go to visit the trees outside of San Francisco I was interested but had absolutely no idea what to expect. As we made our way into the forest, amongst dozens of regular visitors, hikers, cyclists and moms pushing their babies in prams along the wooden walkways, I thought, “this is very beautiful”— that what happened next shocked me.
As we left the entrance behind us, walking deeper into the forest my heart was struck. Cannot easily describe the force of the emotion, the presence that seemed to rip my heart open with sheer beauty. Spontaneously I began to cry, but I tried to hide my tears and crying, embarrassed as most people were simply jogging or walking past, like they would in any other place.
Uncontrollable sobs kept rising, so eventually I stopped closed my eyes, trying to gather myself and calm down. “Stop crying,” I tried to reason with myself. The emotions subsided so I braved opening my eyes again, there the force struck me again, and the hot tears flowed. So I surrendered and quietly cried as we walked in silence.
My husband, lovingly gave me space. I thought that we had walked for 20 minutes, my husband tells me it was over two hours. I cannot recall anything but the sheer force of ancient sacred beauty, the depth of which brought me to tears.
This artwork is in honor of that forest, that ancient place. May the artwork in my story remind you, that nature in beauty has the power to open us to the true self.
