Gratitude to the forest

Bowing in reverence to Lakkadkot Forest.

A few days ago, our shelter was a temple in the middle of a forest. From here, we had to walk about 20 km through an area without any human habitation. This was the first time I had walked in the middle of a forest, and I was in awe of the tall trees, streams of water, colorful birds, the 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 that have been standing here for decades, spreading their roots deep down while growing up high in the sky. Some of the roots were so large that we had to climb over them. There were many river beds that seemed to flow during monsoons and were dry in this season, and a few river streams that were still full of water. While putting our feet in those streams, we could see the fish dancing around our feet.

Every time we paused for a break, we could hear the wind, and at other times, we walked 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 hearing and seeing the 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 their presence by leaving footprints. We knew there were wild animals around. And I asked myself whether our presence was an interference for them as I walked through their paradise. But they made sure that we walked 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.