A Walk in the Woods

Join me on a stroll through the woods! Take a deep breath of the clean air and enjoy the quiet and solitude.

Look up at the trees reaching up into the sky, and imagine how long they have lived here. They have spent many years shedding their needles and leaves down onto the floor of the forest, where they join with the soil and moss and grass to make the carpet you now walk on. The soft ground underfoot is welcoming, inviting you to stray further in.

Overhead, the calm blue sky is blotted out time and again by the trees as you pass under them. Here, it is quiet. The sound of traffic from the roads is gone. You can't hear any evidence of human life but your own footsteps. It's peaceful here and calm. There's no need to stay alert or be afraid. There is nothing here that could hurt you.

You've heard a rumour that deer live in these woods. The only other animal life forms are birds and squirrels, rabbits, mice, voles, and other small rodents. You hear the birds now, calling out to one another. A quiet warning about your presence, but not a panic. Maybe even the birds can sense you are only a visitor here, passing through to enjoy the calm.

You take a deep breath of fresh air and inhale the scent of pine needles. Everything is fresh and clear, as if a storm recently washed through and cleansed everything. You feel as though you are inhaling peace and exhaling everything negative in your mind. Let go of the stresses of daily life, the pain, the blame, the guilt, the fear. Let go of anything that happened before you stepped into the woods today.

The fallen leaves and twigs crunch under your feet as you move onwards. Even though there is no real path through the trees out here, they grow spaced apart far enough that you can stroll amongst them easily. It is as though each of them has left room for their siblings to grow, letting their roots intertwine rather than fighting for space.

You see a track left by deer and follow it, though you don't imagine you will see them today. The woods are too still, as if the whole world is holding its breath, allowing you this moment of peace before you return to your normal life. You are the only one here, moving through it and leaving only your footprints as evidence of your presence.

You move deeper into the woods as the trail leads you through it, far from the entrance where you first came in. You don't feel worried about finding your way back later. You'll just retrace your steps - though you have a feeling this path will lead you right to where you need to go.

You do meet characters on your walk, though: strong tree stumps that have felt the effects of a storm that felled their branches, clusters of small plants, huddles of fir trees that look like family members crouched together.

You move through the splendour of the forest, the air on your skin not too warm and not too cool. It's as though this moment was created perfectly, just for you.

You emerge from the depths of the woods onto a broader path, as the sun comes out to illuminate your way once again. It's as though the woods are showing you the way - and look: we're right back where you came in, and it will be easy to step outside and return to the rest of the world. But only when you are ready.

I hope you enjoyed this walk in the woods with me today! Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world? When was the last time you lost yourself in nature?

All photographs by Rhiannon D'Averc, taken using OnePlus Nord and edited with Lightroom.