#trees from the forest

[stellarpurplecollar]

Journal: Stand and look up.

When my brother and I were growing up, we did a Christmas thing. It was one of the few things we ever did together. As soon as the tree was up, we would drag a pillow and some blankets into the living room, fold the blankets to make a bit of cushioning for our backs, and lie on the floor with our heads tucked under the tree to fall asleep staring at the lights. We chatted a bit, but I don't remember any kind of deep conversation. No secret swapping or philosophical reveal. He would almost always fall asleep first. Mainly we were there for the lights.

I think once we hit middle school, we tapered off from the experience. By then, we had smartened up -- acknowledging Floor=Back pain. We started camping out on couches and recliners for a few nights. Still, the conversation was mindless chatter. Sans profoundness.

He has kids now. We still don't communicate. I wonder if his boys camp beneath their trees. I couldn't provide a significant tree for my girls. I don't remember if they ducked under their grandparents' tree; I just don't remember.

Recently, in my therapy group, a young woman said she liked to go into the forest and look up. She does it whenever she gets the chance. "I love that sense of smallness. It's like, my body loses balance but my mind gains insight, you know? Like, whatever problem I took to the woods, it wasn't as big of a deal compared to my inner tree holding the rest of my life." I wanted to ask her if birds pooping from that height constituted a conundrum or some sort of thought hiccup, but we aren't allowed to ask those sorts of questions. Honestly I hate not being able to be myself.

I can't wander into the woods; my walker won't fit. And I don't need to look up to lose my balance. Unless I have wandered out there to die, I won't get to experience that feeling of awe. But I can still look up. The other night I spent an hour staring out the window. I am in a place far from where I grew up; the stars didn't look familiar and I was uneasy. I spotted a falling star. It was brilliant! In a sky full of pin pricks, this was a marker, thick and flowing.

The next time you are somewhere you normally are not, look up. It doesn't have to be nature. It can be information, a person of personal influence or connection, or to watch a flock of birds passing overhead. However it happens, you will come home with a new perspective -- even if it is with only one eye.

Shortchanged in foresight,

She Who is Collared

[dryemiddi]

Every time I think about the Tree of Feelings I can't help but be a little underwhelmed at how the most popular depictions of it is just. the tree. on a hill. surrounded by miles of nothing but grass and maybe a few houses in the distance.

Yeah, no thanks. I'll just go with my own interpretation on this one

[lindagoesmushrooming]

[uwhe-arts]

down from the mountains . . . | uwhe-arts

[iztea]

a good strong wind will keep you honest

[proteusolm]

Discussed the "would you rather a run into a bear or a man when alone in the woods" question with my friend who is a black bear technician, and I have a lot of experience working in remote areas with a high black bear population myself. She and I both were instantly in agreement that: 1. If I'm in the woods deep in bear country, the bear is simply much more expected and less startling to run into than the man. It would be something we are prepared for and fully unsurprised by. 2. Bear safety is pretty straightforward, we know and have training in their behaviour, how to avoid conflict, what a black bear that is trying to hunt you looks like, and how to maximize your chances of getting out of the situation safely in the incredibly rare case of an attack. There's no equivalent handy step by step guide to respond to a dude attack.

Most people approach the question as a feminist one, thinking more about risk of violence from a man, but neither of us really even expressed much concern about the dude beyond knowing from experience that it is startling and unsettling to run into someone when in a remote wooded area far from any trails or residences. As two animal autistics that studied wildlife management in college and have spent a lot of time in the woods of northern Ontario, we both missed the intended point of the debate, instead coming to a stance solidly rooted in "why would be I be upset to see a bear when I'm knowingly in the bear's home?"

[thatsbelievable]

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage - The World Within

[demadogs]

some of you need to hate ai way more than you currently do

[branchflowerphoto]

scenes from a moving car: into the forest

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

ah! im already Excelling at fulfilling my new years desires! ft. a new good thing to list:

hot cocoa on snowy mornings!

[magnumopos]

F E E D I T .

[boneychop]

Painted in Sunlight

[philomena-famulok]

©Philomena Famulok

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[lesbianredhoodedmercenary]

project moon is getting me with the girldads double whammy

ryoshu spider bud ego.... ryoshu getting the ego for the abnormality that's so fiercely protective of it's children to the point of murder... combined with how protective the artist is of his daughter in hell screen... she's the best dad on the bus

[sweetybaty]

Flaky exposed!!1!!1!!!!