......another world

Yogis,

People often call February a gray month, but in reality it is the color brown I see when I look around.  Every imaginable shade of brown. Yet there is one thing that remains green……..moss.

Lately as I walk through the woods I have been noticing moss.  I guess when there is a splash of color the eye is drawn.  Or perhaps it is the aliveness still present in an otherwise seemingly lifeless landscape that is calling me to draw near.  Whatever it is, moss has waved and gotten my attention.

When walking by with my eyes 5 feet off the ground, it all appears quite similar.  A close-cut blanket of green on the lower bark of a tree, the edge of a rock, a rotting log.  Until you get close.  Real close……..

There you find another world. 

I have learned that there are over 12,000 species of moss, and that they lack roots, stems and flowers.  It is the closest relative to the first plant to live on land 500 million years ago. Moss was used as bandages and for healing wounds during the First World War.  Live moss was used to insulate boots in cold climates and dried moss helped heat homes. Some of the earliest forms of diapers even contained moss since it can absorb twenty times its weight in liquid.  Can you imagine?

Moss will also indicate where there is pollution as it only can grow in clean environments.  Glad to see all the moss in my yard!

I have been getting close.  Real close…….to learn. Taking my phone camera to its highest zoom setting, getting down on the ground and seeing.  And what I see is amazing. 

Who knew?  And how many other worlds are there that I walk by each and every day lost in thought, without even a second glance.

I feel so blessed to have been given a life time to walk on this incredible earth we call home.  How do I allow myself to be drawn 5 feet up, away from its magic, into the illusionary world of drama, fear and distrust, when it lies waiting at my feet each morning as they touch the floor. 

A friend recently sent me a quote.  ‘The answer may not be at the beach, but shouldn’t we at least check?’ I had walked along the ocean that very morning and responded that yes, I had checked and my answers that day were indeed found there.  And they are found in the woods, along the river and deep inside the moss. 

The answers we are all seeking will not be found in our heads.

Get close…..real close.

In awe,

SARAH