Each morning around six, Daisy and I go for a walk. I get my sleepy body moving by the time the coffee pot has one large cup of coffee made and off we go to the nearby Chehalis trail.
Daisy leads with her nose and I follow with my eyes. We relate to the world by different senses. This blacktopped trail is about as wide as generous car lane near my house as it cuts though what remains of an old lumbering forest. A few of the fir that missed the two attempts of clear cutting still stand but closer to the lane are the younger trees of the last thirty years. The underbrush is cleared for four feet on each side and all the limbs of the trees are cut up to ten feet as respect to the fast moving bikers that use the trail during the week.
Each day I find new things I missed before. The foxglove and daisy flowers are in bloom now but today I notice two little patches of wild sweet peas. This flower reminds me of the 25 years of living in Door County, Wisconsin where wild sweet peas and Queen Anne's Lace were the stamp of color for summer.
The Himalaya blackberries blooms are white, five pedals and about the size of a large California strawberry. They cover openings on the landscape where sunlight warms them during the middle of the day. My favorite patch maybe replaced by two new areas I have found that I will not have to share with so many trail walkers.
The crows usually announces us at the start of our walk and the small birds relay the message of a dog in the area as we continue the walk along the path. The sight of a rabbit kill during the night is found at less one a week as they must be the bottom of the food chain for many of the animals in this forest. I have heard the coyotes during the night and elk in the very early morning hours. They have never shared the path with Daisy and me but I have heard of sightings from others in the neighborhood.
Modern peoples believe only humans have souls but most indigenous peoples around the world believed that animal, plants and even rocks have souls. I assume that the different could be that modern day people spend so little time in nature that they have lost the ability to sense the spirits that are in the natural world. While walking in the morning, I feel a peacefulness and a relate to my surroundings in a manner that we are one, this leads me to believe earlier people may have had more knowledge than I do. The opportunity to live this part of my life in such a comfortable place is truly a blessing.
These early morning walks remind me what the author of the book AGING WITH GRACE writes. In our twenties we spend all our energies finding out about who we are, how we will fit in and who will love us. In our middle years we identify with our careers, our possessions and achievements. Finally in our third period of life we take what we have learn and see the wisdom of it all.
Now with more time to think and sense my world, I see more and complete the meaning of events. These walks are sorting the wisdom for me.
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