The Wisdom of Nature

There's a simplicity in letting writing transform the space around you

Carving out new worlds like pain once carved you

This world is my pumpkin to sculpt

While I rip out my own guts to begin

*

Into a forest I travel

The only place that showed me peace

Was among the trees and the bees

The chirping birds and the scurrying rabbits

Among the fae, the fairies of old

It is here I seek the wisdom of the druids

But with a different understanding

*

The universe crafted these woods, and all of nature

And it is but one of his many creations

They are as much as human as we are

Little divine sparks coursing through us all

*

As I walk softly over the fallen logs of this forest

I hear the trees whisper their secrets to me

They tell me to sit and listen to their tales of patience

Their words breathe God’s breath back into me

*

These grand oak trees began as no more than tiny seeds

Decades before I took my first breath

And will exist long after I take my last

They teach me the power of waiting so that I may grow

And remind me there are seasons growth never comes

The rings left behind show us a greater truth

That sometimes surviving is all we can do

*

Their bark may be beaten and battered

But still, they stand above the rest

They tell me to plant my seeds and let them grow

For one day I might become a majestic oak tree

*

Having listened with all my heart I continue walking my path

This time crossing over a small but determined creek

Meandering its way through this forest

The water calls to me, hear my tale

We wish to teach you of the rivers flow

*

I find a seat on a nearby moss covered rock

And out of the creek comes a water nymph

Bubbling and bursting with life

She grabs me by the hand and we turn back to the water

We become the creek

I feel her rushing waves gently crashing against the stones

As she carves her way through the forest

I feel her flow, her power is one that is never forceful

She is free above all others

*

Eventually she spits me back out nearby

And speaks passionately

You cannot bend nature to your own will

Any more than you can force a rock to move

To feel the flow of life you must co-exist with everything in your way

The river bends to its surroundings and so you too must bend

Otherwise, you would have spent a lifetime never moving a single rock

We do not have the power to force anything

Your path is shaped by your ability to be flexible in the face of adversity

The world does not change, but we do.

*

With this new wisdom bestowed upon me I continued on

I passed under a large oak tree where I found rest from the sun’s warmth

It was there I came upon two lovebirds singing their melodies

When one spoke to me

“Won't you join us my dear?” she asked

Oh, I don’t know anything about love or singing I'm afraid I spoke

That’s okay, there are things we can teach you

Love can be taught as much as it can be felt

*

She found a perch on my shoulder and began her lesson

It was by far the most important one, because Love rules all

She then spoke gently, but commanded the air

The two lessons you have learned already, apply to love as well

Love is patient, Love can't be forced, it must simply be

We sing because our hearts are free, as love should be

Every one of us has a song to sing whether we know it or not

We yearn for another whose melody compliments our own

*

As all things grow so does love in turn

Like a seed in the darkness, it too will bloom

But love can be smothered, its existence choked out

My lesson is this dear boy

Don’t give your seed to someone who will never plant it

Some people have beautiful melodies but they are not for us

Their beauty is a trap leading others to their doom

We listen but we do not hear

Love does not lead us astray

*

So sing until your heart is content

And listen for the one who hears your song in turn

Together you will make music for all to hear

And off she flew with her mate to teach another

*

As I laid against the tree of old, I pondered about my own life

I was not patient, nor was I always kind

I made cracks appear in others to fill the ones in myself

Afraid of changing I never let my seeds grow

They remained in a bag on my shelf gathering dust

And I wondered why I never felt my roots

My soul had never been planted

*

I carried a pickaxe and hammered away at those rocks

Never yielding and never gaining even an inch

I did not have the time to wait for the rock to move aside

Nor could I make those rocks move by brute strength

I thought that by changing the world around me I too would change

But no matter where I fled my troubles always followed

In doing so I committed the gravest of sins

My pride led me to believe I was all powerful

But I wasn’t even a man capable of moving a rock

*

The lesson of love struck me as the most profound

I listened, but never knew what I was supposed to hear

They all sounded right to me

How could I have known every melody was off key

After all I was mesmerized by their beauty

*

Eventually I rose to my feet and began my path once more

The sound of crunching leaves under my feet

And the fresh autumn air renewed my soul

Somewhere along the path an old hermit appeared

Walking with a large oaken stick and a bag over his shoulder

He smiled in passing and said follow me son

I am the teacher of your final lesson

He led me to a cave deep within the forest

Where he sat me down and started a fire to warm us both

The smoke filled the air like magic

And he grunted sitting down beside me

*

I am the last of the druids the ones you seek

Here to tell you the greatest wisdom I can bestow

But no further can you go

Because without this final lesson you cannot grow

*

Your final lesson is a harder beast to capture

For it means taming the monster within yourself

My lesson is forgiveness

The very thing you have come here to learn

*

He laughed and said, "I'm not talking about what the church preaches

This isn’t about seeking forgiveness from the universe, but from yourself

The universe already forgave you, but he wants you to understand that

I know you are scared to be free

But free is exactly what you should be

That is the problem with mankind, we are so blind to see

*

Nature does not ask for forgiveness, they simply move on

A tree does not remember its transgressions

Nor does the river tell the rock it is sorry

A bird does not apologize for singing its song

So why do you?

*

Your past did not make you, any more than your mistakes shaped you

Be patient with yourself, flow within your mind and sing of love

Your seeds are just as worthy of anyone else's

And deserve to be planted all the same

Yet you hold onto them out of shame

And you forget the very truth in front of you

*

The tree did not condemn you nor did it find fault with you

For never planting your seeds

The river did not chastise you for your futile attempts against the rocks

Nor did she laugh at your wasted efforts

The lovebirds did not shame you for not knowing how to sing

Or call you a fool for not understanding love’s melody

Because they know we are already forgiven

And so, the universe sent us here today

So you would see that for yourself