I had a lot of nervous energy today and decided to go for a run.

To be clear, I don’t really ‘run’. I jog until I start to get a little hot and then wander around in running shoes.

I go to the lake by my house almost everyday but never really noticed the tree before. Today it called to me. Today it reached out to shake me until I opened my eyes. I tried to keep walking but there was a strange invisible force field keeping me in place.

I wanted to climb the tree.

No, I needed to climb the tree.

I pulled myself up along its sturdy body. The ground got farther away and it occurred to me that I could probably die if I fell from this height. I didn’t stop. I knew where I was going.

Just a little ways up, I reached a soft swoop in one of the more reliable branches. It was nearly flat and I could sit on it like a bench. A floating bench.

I sat awaiting further instructions but none came. Only a soft, peaceful, feeling in my body. It was as if the tree was whispering don’t worry, everything is going to be ok. 

I sat in the stilllness for a time, vowing to spend more time with the trees.