Why Woods?

I love woods. I'm not exactly sure what the attraction is. Perhaps it's the innate mystery within those trees or just my love for nature and solitude, I just love woods. The draw is magnetic, alluring. I haven't been in the woods for a few years now...not since our first child was born and not by myself since I met my husband. Sometimes I really miss that quiet alone time in the woods with a notebook and Creator that I revelled in during my single-years in college. I always felt content and at peace...no questions, just beauty and poetry.Have you ever been lost in the woods...or just a bit disoriented? I remember a mountainside in Colorado, hiking with a friend. We weren't far from camp but far enough to be a little worried when we couldn't find our way back. It is easy to get turned around surrounded by a forest of trees. And it's more than a little scary when you can't find your way home. And as much a you love the woods...home sounds sooo good (and so far away.) We made it home, but not without many wrong turns and probably a few backtracks. (reminds me of Pooh, Piglet and Rabbit trying to find their way back out of the woods after trying to lose Tigger)Life is like that sometimes. I can feel very happy and contented in the beautiful woods, but after awhile I'm ready to go home. (Kind of like Alice, growing tired of nonsense after her adventures in wonderland, ready to go home, to embrace something sensible, to grow-up.) Here I am walking through my woods, happy and content with this comfortable place I love, but suddenly I begin to feel a little disoriented as unfamiliar sights come into view. And questions begin to rise...where am I really, what is the truth? The truth...it's like that ever illusive home that we all long for. And this journey, the woods I love. And all of a sudden we just want to know the way home. Because this journey is so much more beautiful when we know the way back home. So here is my journey...where I've been(walking in circles), my current steps and hopefully a little insite into where this path is leading...one post at a time.

First posted on A Path to My Woods, November 9, 2005