nature
“Stop. Hey what’s that sound?”
I walked in the park the other day, alone. I wanted to take photos but my camera’s battery was dead. The only camera I had was in my phone. Usually I take my dogs with me as my protectors, but I didn’t have the right harnesses. I felt a strong desire to walk in the woods. It was a beautiful day and I was afraid to waste it. So I went alone.
I walked up the stairs, all 100+ of them. I was winded. It was beautiful. I was alone. Sitting there catching my breath, taking in the fall colors of the tree tops below, and then all of a sudden I got scared. Just me, alone, at the brink of a huge cliff next to the never ending woods. Not a soul in sight.
What crossed my fearful mind, after all the horrific scenarios, was that I should think like an Indian Squaw. Hold on….I have to look up “squaw” because I don’t really know what it means. Well… that was more than I needed to know. I guess I need to know, but I didn’t know the bad meaning until I looked for the regular meaning.
I recovered from the stairs and started my hike. I began telling myself to “stop it, don’t let your fear win, just enjoy.” So I walked for awhile up until the moment I noticed freshly pressed large foot prints in the mud. I froze stiff in my steps and listened. I listened hard. I wanted to hear those footsteps if they were out there. I tried to imagine that if I heard foot steps that I could locate the origin of them as quickly as a native Squaw.
Sigh….
I calmed myself down. Which was no small task. But still I wanted to locate something by sound alone. I wanted to be keen, keenly aware.
I continued on, hearing only my own footsteps. I stopped again. It was really quiet. Finally I heard a bird, a large bird, an owl or something up in the trees. I tried to locate it, but as I walked on the sound bounced, appearing to move. Being keen is not that easy.
The voice I heard had a soft mellow earthy tone, relaxed. I have no idea what kind of creature it was, I never saw it. It sounded blissfully content, high above me in the seemingly empty quiet woods and that was enough for me.
All this on an indiscernible Thursday from a simple walk in the park, alone.
Tip: Keep your batteries charged.
Inspiration: “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” ~Rosa Parks
One-day one-thing: Wake-up your senses; step outside and do something alone.
