The Maple Tree

Yesterday, I was having lunch at the Findhorn foundation with my mum and sister. It was a really beautiful day and the autumn colours were starting to come out. I couldn't help but muse that when it comes to autumn, it's amazing how 'death' can look so beautiful. The leaves don't fret and struggle at the onset of their passing...instead with grace, ease and lightness their beauty is greatly intensified and when the time comes, they gently drift away - not struggle, no fear, just life and 'death' - if there really is such a thing beyond the concept we've created of it - expressing itself in perfection.

After lunch, I felt the sudden compulsion to take a different path back to the car. The path to the cafe generally used by the public is one that I've walked countless times before (what can I say? I love that cafe!). But, taking heed of my sudden impulse - something I'm usually more inclined to ignore in favour of the path 'more travelled'...we walked through the trees into what almost felt like a magical, secret garden. The stillness and quietude of Findhorn is always pronounced, but yesterday it seemed even more tranquil. The excitement and feeling of adventure as we wandered along the path, with the sunlight glistening through the trees, was intoxicating. Along the way we came to the following maple tree. Its leaves had turned to a fiery red-pink hue and we stopped in our tracks, spellbound.

There was something about that tree, beyond the outward beauty. I feel changed since that moment of discovery. In that instant I learned the importance of shaking things up; to stop trudging the old familiar path just because that's what you've always done and because it's what everyone else does. I learned to get in touch with my inner promptings and to really step beyond mind and the old habitual tendencies - to stop living life as a conditioned reflex....to approach each new moment with NEW EYES as though you'd never seen any of it before. I have felt deeply joyful ever since that moment; a deep oceanic, boundless feeling of joy which, in the past, I've only ever experienced for brief moments. Maybe this feeling will pass soon, but even so, I wanted to share it with you in the hope that you experience some of it as well. Shake things up; do something different, be child-like and inquisitive. Explore. And you might very well stumble upon a hidden beauty that will change your life.