Fragments Gallery
Still Giants
Just imagine for a moment.
You're sitting on a smooth rock in the quiet of the forest. At this time in the early morning the only sounds you hear are those of the birds calling and the gentle drip of moisture from the trees. The air is cool against your skin, soothing away any worries or regrets that you carry. Surrounding you are countless pines, towering giants who are oblivious to the world. This part of the forest seems ancient, pristine and untouched by people. The sunlight streams through the tree tops high above, reaching down to brush its tender lips across your face. Your features warm into a smile.
A new day has come.
Is it time to leave? You have been sitting there since before the sun rose. You've done this before. Sometimes people ask you why do you remain for so long? Sometimes you ask yourself the same question. Always you find that you have no answer. So you remain quiet, unable to give an adequate response. Sometimes they smiling knowingly and other times they look confused. They don’t understand, but they don’t have to.
Why do you remain so long? That silence after that question brings another thought, to your own mind at least. Do you need to give a reason to head out to the forest to sit a while? Do you need to have a reason for everything that you do? Sometimes it seems that's what's expected.
You take a breath and let the thought slip away. For the moment the question is unimportant.
You're staring at an elder pine across from you. Dew glistens in the needles on the lower branches as the sun rises. Slowly some of the water collects into a bead and then falls to the ground below where it shatters into numerous small droplets. It was beautiful.
Lichen grows on the old bark splashing colour onto the brown and grey surface. Moss grows on the side of the tree facing you. You think there's some significance to that but you can’t say what it means.
A few more minutes pass as you survey the tree. Then something occurs to you. Maybe it was time leave. You have things to do. You should be getting back. But you know that tomorrow you might find yourself here once more. The forest was a retreat. It provided you with a respite from life. You say farewell to the silent trees, knowing that you'll see them again when life grows to be too much to bear. You know you'll see them soon.