I often seek solace in the woods where I live. These wooded trails are my refuge.  The winter seems particularly endless this year. It always does in the month of March. Walking in the woods helps me overcome my feelings of sadness and discouragement. It helps me feel alive as I focus on my breath and the connection to the ground under my feet. Today the forest is quiet and calm with a light dusting of snow. Nature knows when to pause  in preparation for the great outburst of energy that is the spring. There are signs everywhere now and it gives me great hope. The signs reveal the threshold of a new season.

I took the LOVE letters on my walk hoping to find a place and a moment where the surroundings would speak to me. This walk for me today is as much about tapping into universal love as it is about creating it somewhere. The energy of this particular site on my path caught my attention immediately. I felt the energy of this magnificent tree shooting straight up from the rocks. Its roots clutch the granite formation to provide the grounding security that seems to allow the tree to defy gravity. It stands there steadfast. It is living proof that sometimes the impossible is made possible through love, nurture, strength, balance and the passage of time. These are the invisible forces of nature which ground our existence.

The snow-covered path beyond the tree feels almost magical to me. I know now that I can find my way. I carefully place the LOVE letters in the bed of moss at the base of the tree.  I know in my heart that this is a place of wonder and transformation. I emerge from my walk in the forest with a renewed sense of self and in doing so I am more deeply connected to my humanity.