Forest Meditations

Today I drove four hours east from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park.  My first and only stop for the day was Mariposa Grove, the home of the Sequoias.  Along with my trusty camera and a light jacket, I hiked with a copy of a book containing meditations from John Muir's journals.  I was planning to read the entries at various points along the way.

At the first sequoia I found a place to sit and read Muir's words.  Recognizing that some of his writings were inspired by the same beauty I was seeing today made the readings very special. 

But then I recalled Barbara Brown Taylor's book, "An Altar on the World."  In that wonderful book she tells about encouraging students to read a poem to a tree and the ways in which this impacted the students.  I decided to do the same.  So, throughout the next four hours of hiking, I stopped to read Muir's words aloud...to the sequoias, to the chipmunks playing on a stump, to the mist flowing through the trees, to all of God's creation.  And after each reading I gave thanks for such a beautiful place.

Along the path, I came upon five does grazing.  They were not disturbed by my presence.  I was able to get several good photos.  After a while I continued walking and nearby came upon four stags.  Again, they allowed me to approach without darting away.  I left the path and came to a fallen tree right where the stags were grazing.  I knelt down with my knees cushioned by the soft forest floor.  My arms rested on the fallen log, just a few feet from these incredible creatures. 

Kneeling there, I became aware of the familiarity of this pose.  In Mariposa Grove I was kneeling at the railing receiving this incredible gift.  One stag continued forward as I read, coming within ten feet.  It was a holy moment.  I knelt there for perhaps 20 minutes before saying thanks and returning to the path. 

"Nearly all the park is a profound solitude.  Yet, it is full of charming company, full of God' thoughts, a place of peace and safety...I can write only hints to incite good wanderers to come to the feast."  
                  ---John Muir