Trees for the Forest, Forest for the Trees

They say you can miss the forest for the trees, but I also say you have to see the trees to acknowledge the forest that you're in. And when you find that you are truly lost in a forest, don't panic. Stop. Pay attention. Listen. Silence is powerful. Look at the blades of grass, the dirt beneath your feet, the leaves of the trees, the twists and turns of every branch, the light coming through the canopy that just yet doesn't reach you. The forest is not lost in itself, it's precisely where it is supposed to be. And so are you. The shadows cast by every trunk and limb, the shimmering of the leaves in the wind, the flickering dark that is created by light, sit with it. You can't outrun it, find a clear passage, the easy way out. For if it's easy to get out of the forest and you can't spend one night terrified for your life, then you were not lost in a forest at all. You were merely blindly walking through a small stand of trees. Be still, be quiet, be patient. For those shadows you fear are the reason you're lost in the first place. And it is the shadow side that guides you to the light. You must get lost in the trees to see the forest that is you. Once you honor the light with the dark, you find your way out, for you were never lost when you're where you are supposed to be, only confused and afraid because you had never been there before.

And perhaps one day you will find yourself deep in your forest with the trees again. This time, this time, you will know to sit still, listen, watch, be patient, hear the sounds, and knowing that the shadows will come, and knowing you will fear for your life at least once more, also knowing that it is sharply followed by the golden elixir of morning light, if only you have the patience to sit long enough for the pathway out to reveal itself to you.