- My Temple -

One of my favorite ways to clear my mind is by going on a walk. There’s something about being on my own in nature, forests especially, that allows me to relax and lift my spirits. Almost like a type of therapy. The forest is my place of peace, my temple if you will. Whenever I feel sad, lost, or like I’m at a crossroads, I either go for a run in the woods or I just walk. I’ll look around marveling at the beauty of the world and its incredible resilience over the millions of years it’s seen. Almost like the world sets all my struggles into perspective. I’ll walk and walk and then stop occasionally to admire a certain tree, view, or flower formation. What always stops me in my tracks is the wind rushing through the leaves, making the trees sway back and forth, rattling every big and small leaf. The way that same breeze hits my face and blows through my hair, the cooling touch gently piercing my skin sending a light shiver down my spine. If my soul could have a sound, that is it. The sound of the wind rushing through the trees. I just stop, close my eyes, and take a breath. At the end of my walk, it feels like whatever I was dealing with has been solved... Okay maybe not. But it certainly feels lighter and more bearable. I open myself up to the world and it gives me answers in the form of breezes, butterflies, and flora.

I love the way everything smells in the woods. All crisp and fresh. Everything is lush and green, even smells green. Even food tastes better there. Every bite of an apple feels crisper and every bite of that love-packed sandwich with salami and cheese, though now slightly soggy, somehow still tastes infinitely better. Somehow, even the tap water in my water bottle suddenly tastes mountain fresh as if from some ice-cold spring. The beauty of our world has the ability to move me to tears, and it has. Sometimes I can’t help myself: I take out my phone and snap a picture. That way I can look back at that picture and remember exactly where, when, and what I was feeling when I took it.

This picture was taken a few days before Christmas, 2019 in Switzerland by a forest near a highway. I didn’t edit this photo much at all actually. I only added the iPhones “Vivid Warm” filter and enhanced the color of the leaves slightly.

This forest in particular means much to me. At the time of this photo, I had just undergone a massive life change. I felt lost and had completely lost sight of who I was and who I was meant to be. Almost as if I was floating in a body of water and a force was pulling me down beneath the surface, no matter how hard I kicked and swam. The day of this photo was a cold one. I was looking for answers and needed to clear my head, so I bundled up and went for a run. There was frost on each blade of grass, fountains had turned to ice and mist came rolling over the hills and through the trees. Being Finnish through-and-through I suppose explains why I feel such comfort within the woods. It's the one place I feel like I can think. It also happens to be the one setting in which I can run and run and never feel like I get tired. Normally I’d hate jogging. But in a forest? That’s a different story. It's almost as if the forest fuels me, energizes me, and allows me to just let out all my frustrations and emotions. What I love in particular about this image is the way the tall trees lean on one another, supporting each other like life long friends. But then again, I suppose they are. Just looking at the photo you can almost hear the crunch of the leaves. Makes me want to push them into a pile and just fall into it as I would as a child. Through the trees in the mist is a clearing. Possibly two football fields in width and length. There have been many times where I just come up here and watch the mist come over me and take pictures of the small glass-like beads of water on the grass. It is the place I wish to exist, surrounded by forest. All I’d need is one of those love-packed sandwiches, a bottle of my mountain-fresh water, my camera, my notebook, my thoughts, and a pen.

Growing up in the woodland area of Finland meant that 99% of my days were spent outside playing, exploring, going on adventures to find the nearest anthill (I wouldn’t have to look far), or looking for “lost things”. Sometimes I’d help my parents in the garden, the wind chime would sing in the wind and the birds would give their fill of the day. We would imitate their chirps and my father would teach me what bird was what.

I’ve always had this connection to nature, but there was a time when the forest scared me. By day the woodlands were enchanting to my young eyes, but by night I’d sit inside on the window sill and stare at the dark tree line ahead. I would think about how serene it looks by day, yet how it could frighten me by night. Years later I realized I was never afraid of the forest itself, but merely the darkness and unknown as I could not see what may be lurking or residing within.

Mother Nature is beauty and grace, yet also reckless and mischievous. The most clever trickster of them all. She is bold and adapts to new challenges daily and when she is injured, she has the ability to recover. Maybe not instantly, but in the end, she will always be the last one standing. In those aspects, she should be a role model for us all. She is the owner of this planet and she decides what goes and what stays, us mere mortals have no say in the matter. We are only renters, she the landlord and if and when she decides to evict us, that will be it. We will only have been lucky enough to have had as much time as we did with her and the garden she provided for us. I feel lucky to be able to appreciate it and see it for what it is - a gift to cherish and protect at all costs. Thank you for sharing your beauty with us. In your life filled woods, I will always find my equilibrium.

Love,

Juliette