Written by Albert Green, my father
You are in the country.
It’s morning.
The sun is just beginning to stretch her golden tentacles across the endless, motionless sky.
The air is filled with the songs of birds.
A slight breeze slides across the meadow … carrying the perfume of the flowers and the newly mown hay.
It’s cool and so refreshing.
Leaves are fluttering in the trees composing their own rhapsody.
On the side of the road are bachelor buttons and buttercups.
Lilies and clover.
A veritable artist’s pallet of color.
And the morning dew is freshly painted on everything.
Spider webs sparkle as the sun makes each into a kaleidoscope of shimmering color.
In the distance you hear the gravel voices of young calves calling.
The shadows are long.
The mountains just ahead still retain much of the darkness from the night before.
The world is serene … and you feel a oneness with that world.
This is an excerpt from a meditation my father wrote maybe 40 years ago! He goes on to talk about laying down Anger and Guilt and Worries and Fears. It is a powerful guided meditation. And as I was thinking about Angie Stegall’s talk about Forest Bathing, I realized my father intuitively understood Forest Bathing so long ago. He loved to go out in the woods. He loved being in the mountains. Lucky for me that I have so many of his writings and I was able to find this and share it with you.
A passage from a piece in Time Magazine, written in 2018 by Qing Li, says: “The key to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses. Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands and feet. Listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling in the leaves of the trees. Look at the different greens of the trees and the sunlight filtering through the branches. Smell the fragrance of the forest and breathe in the natural aromatherapy of phytoncides. Taste the freshness of the air as you take deep breaths. Place your hands on the trunk of a tree. Dip your fingers or toes in a stream. Lie on the ground. Drink in the flavor of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm. This is your sixth sense, a state of mind. Now you have connected with nature. You have crossed the bridge to happiness.”
When was the last time you were out in nature and just got quiet and listened and experienced, with no where to get to? Angie suggested even 5 minutes of quiet in your backyard would bring benefits. Are you willing to try that?
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My Dad’s meditation ends like this…
And right now, take a moment and make a promise to yourself that you are going to FIND happiness and fulfillment.
You ARE going to do something you have been wanting to do … but have been putting off.
You ARE going to call someone, write to someone, visit someone. Forgive someone … Especially Yourself!
You ARE going to be your own best friend.
Today, tonight… fulfill your promise to yourself,
To make yourself happy again and to realize … you CAN make yourself feel alive.
The decision is yours and yours alone. So, make the decision and follow it through.
Wouldn’t it be a shame if you were to die today and realize … you had never really lived?
Don’t let that happen to you. You CAN live today and LIVE every minute you are alive.
Beautiful thoughts.
I’m reading this at the moment when I need to be reminded of the need to let go of anger and worry. These are well placed words that I so badly needed to read and breath in for restoration.
Your father’s guided meditation poem was beautiful and right on point. Thanks for sharing it today.
I have written several poems when feeling inspired over the years, and started slowly getting back into it. The most inspiration came and comes from being in nature for me. I often focus on the view in my yard, and when I walk down the street to mailbox and watch the birds singing, frolicking through the branches and simply being happy for the simple things. We learn a lot by watching, listening and seeing all that surrounds us. It is soothing, calming and a centering practice that brings us back to what is important- Life- and to live it. I shared your Mon. podcast with my sister who really needed to hear that message and she listened to it too. Thanks again for providing it. The sun is shining here today and signs of spring are revealing themselves reminding us to renew.
Years ago I had inadvertently left my ipod behind when I went for my morning walk and decided to not go back to retrieve it – “Perhaps”, I thought, “the sounds of nature around me would be a calming and reflective background and I didn’t need to hear the Beetles singing me down the street.
Of course it was the correct decision to make and now I often take my walks – through fields and walking paths – without the ambient noise of my musical selections. Those are fine for dancing through the house with my pooch, Murray. But for a reflective, calming and centering experience I now let nature accompany me with all of its sights, sounds and feelings.
Wendy, your dad was so astute. Now I know why you are, as well.
This is magic, pure and simple. How wonderful to reconnect with your dad’s writing! It makes my heart feel very squeezy – full of love, remembrance, and connection. Thank you for sharing your dad with us this way.
Wendy, thank you for sharing the wisdom and focus in your father’s words… and his handsome picture!
Thanks for your encouragement Wendy to share my poems. Here are 2 short ones.
Brilliant Revelation
Sun sparkling on a crisp ice sickle
Returning it to water droplets
Just as warm hearts,
cold from loneliness
Transform to flowing heat
due to understanding,
Love, persistent and patient.
by Josephine Raspanti
Weather Breaking
Sun shining warmly
Waking the cold earth
Exhilarating to all
Shouting quietly,
New awakening
To life and all its treasures.
by Josephine Raspanti
Thank you Josephine for sharing your poetry with us. New awakening. I love that.
What a TREASURE to have this special written passage from your father. THANK YOU for sharing it with us, in the Hey, Boomer! community. I so believe that nature is a powerful healing force for us stressed out humans. And I agree that “the key to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses.” Your father’s written prose are full of rich sensory language. We immediately go to that wonderful, peaceful place in our minds.
And even in these pandemic times…there is time, maybe even more time, to drink in the gifts that surround us. Loved the blog.