untold treasures

view from the sitting tree~ almost dry

new view of the sitting tree~ middle of creek

evidence of leisure dining~ middle of creek

in less than 2 years, 20 months to be exact, 3 women in my family have left. my maternal grandmother, my aunt, and now, my mother. there are moments it seems too much to process, all these empty seats at the holiday tables. to stave off overwhelm, out the door i went, headed for the solace of the sitting tree.

this year, fittingly, the creek is almost dry from our ongoing drought. yet, the embrace of her roots felt the same. i stayed with her almost 2 hours. in that time came a new understanding.

there is great activity in a creek bed exposed, especially from very small creatures. the squirrel and the chipmunk took full advantage of the shortened route to the opposite bank, racing over the rocks with morsels in their mouths. it was as if they were determined to take the fullest advantage of this road-hardly-traveled to increase their stores of wealth. as well, the people came, on a weekday no less, and bounded back and forth over the bed, pleased with new-found favor. in time, i too wandered over rocks in the middle and stepped to the other side.

this is what i was told~ in fallow times, where the soul feels terribly exposed and life feels parched for life, there are untold treasures and pathways laid bare. there are places within and under that can only be reached in the seemingly harsh and brutal exposure of loss. look for the morsels exposed, take advantage of the shortened route to new opportunity. trust that joy can exist, everywhere.