Do you ever...

When you are out there running the footpaths and trails, do you ever think about the environment you are passing through? Are you conscious and aware of your surroundings; the ground under your feet, that root sticking out of the ground, the scurrying beetle about to be crushed under your foot, the colour of the sky, the shape of those clouds, the lone Deer in the undergrowth, the audience of trees* along your path, that bird sitting on a low branch, the rustling of wind blown leaves, the crack of a twig underfoot, the 'plop' of a fish jumping to catch a fly; leaving behind it an exquisite mandala of ripples slowly expanding into nothingness? When I say 'conscious', I don't just mean the knowing of where you are and the knowing of where you are going; i.e. you are awake and physically moving through the world, the conscious I'm talking about is known as expanded or higher consciousness, that state of awareness where you are not just moving through nature, you are part of nature itself. Here is where you have rejoined the world and here is where you can achieve a sense of Being and wholeness. At a molecular level, you are the world and the world is you; your senses, your body vibrations and those of your surroundings are all mingling and interacting, one with another. The trick though, is not to get caught up in the events unfolding before and around you. In this place, you must be the Observer, the one who is fully aware of their surroundings and the movement within but who is also separate from them and not lost in the myriad comings and goings and the doings of life. If you have ever practiced or still do practice meditation, then you know what I am talking about. By meditation I mean the use of breathing techniques or mantras to reach deep relaxation and an open awareness, as opposed to the contemplation of scriptures etc. Meditation is most commonly done in a sitting position but it can be done standing up. Through the practice of walking meditation, such as that taught by Thich Nhat Hanh, you will come to, 'notice the beauty of your surroundings, both externally and internally. Smile with every cell in your body'. You can also notice this same beauty when out running. You just have to be awake, really awake.

* When starting to write this particular blog, the loose plan in my head was to end up writing something about the power and importance of trees but I got a bit lost along the way and ended up somewhere else - Oops! Next blog then will be about that 'audience of trees'.