Have You Hugged Your Tree Today?

This weekend my friend Jan and I (and Scooter) took a drive up to Cripple Creek for the second weekend in a row to enjoy the start of the fall colors. A lot had changed in just one week, which is so fascinating. I must have spent two solid hours walking amongst the aspens looking for the perfect aspen leaf in a variety of colors. And, for the first time in six years of living in a state that enjoys different seasons, I have successfully mastered the art of preserving autumn leaves. I think. I’ll tell you in a few days if they all mysteriously turn brown like they have in previous years. But, I am confident. I think.

There is something very satisfying about just walking in nature. In Henry David Thoreau's essay, "Walking," he makes a plea for "absolute freedom and wildness in our lives -- in contrast to the merely civil --because man is an inhabitant and part and parcel of Nature rather than a member of society." I have become such a Granola Girl since moving to Colorado. I spend as much time as possible outside. Autumn is my favorite time of year and I have been known to actually hug trees. There, I said it. I am indeed a tree hugger. I hugged one this weekend in fact. I was in an aspen grove, picking leaves, and looked up to see the tops of the aspens swaying 40 feet above me. Leaves were flying off the trees and careening wildly through the air, the cobalt sky as a backdrop. I couldn’t help myself. I hugged an aspen while looking up through its canopy of fire-colored leaves. I had a Thoreau moment.

Last year my friend Melissa came to visit in early October and I took her to one of my favorite places– an old crumbling mine near the top of a mountain looking over the tiny mining town of Cripple Creek. The hillside is covered in aspen groves and we spent the entire day walking underneath the trees, kicking up the leaves, and admiring the views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the west. We played John Denver loudly, had a picnic and just enjoyed being outside.

This weekend I went to that same spot and thought of our friendship and returned to the aspen tree where I had carved our initials to celebrate the day. The digital camera was out of batteries or I would have taken a photo to post here. I will always remember that day when I return to that space.

John Denver wrote about “Looking for Space” –

“And I'm looking for space
And to find out who I am
And I'm looking to know and understand
It's a sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I'm almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
And sometimes I'm deep in despair”

I am able to turn to Nature to find the answers I need in my life. Where once I turned to the church for understanding, I now turn to the mountains, to pine-scented air, to water bending over rocks, to the sun flowing through red leaves. Everything I need to understand myself is there. It’s carved in the tree trunks and whispered on the wind. I am dedicated to listening.