All things in this creation exist within you, and all things in you exist in creation; there is no border between you and the closest thing, and there is no distance between you and the farthest thing, and all things, from the lowest to the loftiest, from the smallest to the greatest, are within you as equal things. In one atom are found all the elements of the earth; in one motion of the mind are found the motions of all the laws of existence; in one drop of water are found the secrets of all the endless oceans; in one aspect of you are found all the aspects of existence… {Thus} “Your life has no end, and you shall live forevermore.”...Kahlil Gibran
She innocently gives and gives and gives. Whatever we want, it’s there for the taking. We don’t even have to ask permission.
While carefully selecting the location for a new cabin to be built, I look for natural openings; placeholders nestled into the curves, around the trees, highlighting the massive boulders, oriented toward the sun. I was keenly aware of the trees that would be laid down to make room for new growth of another sort. No trouble with the few standing dead hornbeam, and the pre-teen maples, lanky, lean and too top heavy, arching over from the weight of it. This was easy enough—fire wood for later; thank you.
There were a few gorgeous and strong mountain oak and maple, young adults thriving. I paused to survey if there was a way to save these trees. I sat on the ground, trying to find my way in playing God. I heard a rustle in the leaf litter blanketing the forest floor nearby. At nearly the same instant, leaves began to move from various places. I began to see evidence of a network of channels, access holes and exits. I never saw who it was, what beautiful brown eyes would be looking out through silky eyelashes towards me from beneath the leaves. I presume it was a vole family, the ones that turn the soil, aerate it and keep it rich for new growth from the sprouting acorns, the buried forgotten from the red squirrel.
Life. It’s everywhere and it’s everything and we’re all working it out together, or we’re not, or somewhere in between. I found myself asking all the life forms, seen and unseen, known and forgotten, to welcome creating in this particular footprint on this particular locale at this certain time. Would Life make room for us to share the land? It’s generosity seems to prevail.
It also seems that it is human consciousness, ultimately, that will honor and save Gaia, beyond what the vole family will be able to do. Sharing the earth in this place may just bring the awareness, clarity and vision that are warranted for the great turning, towards sustainability and balance.
I cannot know anything for sure. Although trees will be turned into lumber and metal will be extracted from the earth and transformed into nails, screws and roofing. Sand will be heated with oil and made into glass. And it goes on and on—this receiving.
The people will come; from the cities, from their homes, leaving their families and their responsibilities to re-fork here, seeking quiet connections with the natural world and with their own souls, all from this cabin‘s beginning. The people will come in the name of trees, water, sky, granite, stars and soft morning light. And if they notice, they may even see the vole family who find their way with precise attention to detail, in the humble places beneath their feet.
Jen Deraspe, is the founder of Nurture Through Nature, an eco-retreat center in Denmark, Maine. Jen is a certified yoga instructor, a licensed Maine guide, and a certified coach and facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie. She has been leading holistic nature retreats since 1999. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.