Gratitude to the forest

Bowing in reverence to Lakkadkot Forest.

Few days ago, our shelter was a temple in the middle of a forest. From here we had to walk a stretch of about twenty km that was without any human habitation. This was the first time when I was walking in the middle of a forest and I was in the awe of the tall trees, water streams, colourful chirping birds, setting sun, the wind, the rocks and the twinkling stars.

While observing all of this I felt I was a guest here. Guest to the age old trees who would be standing here from decades spreading their roots deep down while growing up high in the sky. Some of the roots were so huge that we were almost climbing over them. There were many of river beds that seem to flow during monsoons and were dry in this season and a few river streams that were still full with water. While putting our feet in those streams we could see the fishes dancing around our feet.

Every time we paused for a break we could hear the sound of the winds and during other times we were walking on a carpet of fallen leaves that were turning into the soil again. Dry leaves were happily falling down as if making space for the new ones to sprout in the spring. I could feel the presence of rocks that were helping me hold my feet. We kept seeing and hearing sounds of a variety of birds. One of them was this big grey bird. We felt like his presence was that of an old wise grandfather, still and silent.

Few animals had marked there presence by leaving their foot prints behind. We knew there were wild animals around. And I asked myself if our presence was an interference for them as I was walking in their paradise. But they made sure that we walk out safe.

A single unstable rock could have changed my experience but all that came our way was taken care of by an invisible force. As we stepped out of the forest, we took a few moments to share our gratitude to Mother Nature for the uninterrupted, wholesome journey with her.