Story #4 “ThankYous”

The sound of the leaves crunching underfoot gives you the reality of being grounded on this earth. Walking along the surface, hearing the snap of a branch that causes the deer to raise its head in distress. It is dark and damp at ground level. The sunlight is noticed, but the source is unseen. You may only be able to see what is but a few feet around you, everything else is blocked or quite well camouflaged. Through the thicket you make it to the base. There you stand, dwarfed by the decades – possibly centuries – of life standing right in front of you. The trunk at your nose shows the weathering of time and the scars of living. You touch the bark, experiencing the life that breathes well beneath you and well above you and you are only experiencing it in one palmful. You look up into the lattice of branches…all the potential…all the possibilities…what exists at the top? What exists between you and the top? You begin to climb, and even on the first foot of ascension you begin to experience what really does exist. First you see the ants all marching in line in pursuit of the honeydew. The ants are so orderly and focused. They are so tiny, yet even they provide benefit to the behemoth you are scaling. You enjoy the hard working ants, but then continue ascending. You begin to get into the thick of the branches. Although you are physically getting closer to the source of daylight, it actually starts getting even darker than before. You are above the thick, sight-inhibiting understory now, but still are unable to see into a far distance as the breaks in the branches that surround you only allow you to see more and more branches of the trees around you. Bringing your attention back to the tree, you freeze in amazement. Right in front of you, staring back with curiosity and fear is a Great Gray Owl. Piercing into your soul with those distinctive yellow eyes, it leaves you awestruck. So stoic but cautious, it thoughtfully dives off the branch, spreading its wings, and silently disappearing into the forest. You know exactly what you saw, but the majestic bird makes you question if the encounter was a dream. You look up and begin climbing once more. Reaching up to the next branch, you feel something fuzzy, then a dartting animal is seen out of the corner of your eye. You turn your head to follow the creature and you see a beautiful red Douglas Fir Squirrel who begins chattering to fiercely scold you for the disturbance. You think this tiny little thing is up here all alone in this desolate environment. You quickly discover it is not desolate at all. The squirrel you disturbed runs to a nearby nest where there are four lively kits. You watch as they wrestle and chase one another so playful and carefree. While the mother is defensive and barking at you, the kits seem to have zero worry in the world. You continue on as to stop bothering the worried mother. Things are getting brighter, the blue of the sky is becoming more and more noticeable, streaks of sunlight are beginning to touch your skin. The air is becoming increasingly dry and you begin to feel warmer. You reach up one more time and as if you were breaking through the surface of a body of water, you take a deep breath in, and just like that…everything becomes visible. You are able to see for miles, as far off into the distance as the horizon of the globe you reside upon. The larger picture…how significant this very tree you sit upon, yet how insignificant it is. The tree top next to you is an eagle taking in the view same as you. With almost a show off attitude, it takes flight straight out into the horizon. You see freedom with every flap of the wing…*crunch* the sound of leaves under your feet. You are grounded, scared, but focused.