.....mysterious mushrooms

Yogis,
Walking through the woods I’m hunched over with my eyes trained on the ground. Take a couple steps….pause. Take a couple steps…..pause. Crouch down. Focus. Stand up. Repeat.

Phoebe is frustrated with our pace. She is accustomed to another rhythm. One where we walk briskly to a location, she is released from the confines of a leash, we spend time there, and walk back with a spring to our step. It’s as if she is rolling her eyes and whispering under her breath ‘not again’ with each pause. Not unlike a teenage boy who you thought would be fun to bring on your shopping trip.

It’s morel mushroom season and I am on the hunt!

My first season at this ‘sport’ was last April. After seeing posts of others bringing home baskets of morels in our area, I decided I wanted to participate. I can do this, right? I read articles and watched videos. I studied their shape and coloring and learned which trees they may be under.  After days and days of foraging I had found only two small morels….neither big enough to warrant bringing home…..yet they gave me joy and vindication that yes, I can do this.

Morels are known for being mysterious and elusive.  Rising from the ground quickly, they mimic the dried leaves in which they mingle both in color and texture. With a short growing season and other hunters competing in potential choice locations, it is no wonder that veterans to the sport closely guard their coveted spots. This is a competition where its every woman for herself!

Mid-April arrives and time to freshen up my skills. I start looking on my walks with Phoebe.

A couple of days in I am with a friend and we decide to check around some tulip poplar trees. Nothing. I take a few steps away and see the tree has dropped one of its leaf pods with flowers. In that instant everything that had happened last year when I found the mushrooms flooded in. I could feel it. I turn and there right in front of me stands a large morel, her head still bent, holding the dirt she had recently pushed through. A thrill!

She had shown me.

Not much different than the spiritual journey, right? At times, what we are seeking can feel mysterious and elusive. We look and look and when we become discouraged and ready to give up, we can suddenly feel it. A moment where time stops and everything appears crystal clear, showing us that we are on the right path.

I am finding morel hunting to be an amazing mindfulness practice. One that takes the yoga tenets and rolls them together into a real-life practice.

Being present. Pausing. Awareness. Silence. Patience. Letting go.  Seeing. Opening to guidance. And most importantly…..trust.  Unwavering faith that what you seek will come.

This time I did bring it home and cooked it up in oil and butter with a little salt. OMG! I have never had a morel before, and although I like mushrooms, this went way beyond that. An explosion of flavor in my mouth. NOW I understand what all the fuss is about.

Complete trust,
SARAH