Thinking of those words, I remember hiking along a lake in Virginia, my old home, where the wilderness still lives in profusion. The mossy forest floor was
The trees, oaks, I believe, seemed to shoot out of the ground in an attempt to reach the sun. Their leafy crowns spread like a prickly blanket over the sky, the very tip of it seeming to touch the golden sun blazing above. I was transfixed by the beauty of it all, shimmering sunbeams dancing on the water, and the lake waves roaring as they sped toward a waterfall, finally coming crashing down on the sharp rocks below.
The torrents of water churned in foamy swarms, creating monstrous forms rising out of the water. I was frightened, yes, but just enough to appreciate the magic of nature. I just stood there, staring at everything, my hungry eyes devouring everything beyond that curtain of mist. They traveled to the thick, dark green moss slowly creeping up the water beaten rocks, the rainbows sparkling on the calm, glassy lake waters flowing gracefully an smoothly until the steep drop to the terrors below, and a flock of pure white birds dipping and soaring like dancing ghosts, weaving in and out of the perfect light-blue sky. It was a mirage; a shimmering dream scene that I couldn’t put to believe was real. I felt like I was Alice from Alice in Wonderland, that I had tumbled from a hole to a fantasy world that felt like it was all a dream.
As I finally managed to pull myself away from the magnificent picture in front of me, I continued along the hard, dirt-packed path weaving through trees and bushes. Every detail stood out clearly to me, as if I had been drenched in a bucket of ice-cold water. The sights I saw, flowers, plant, and animals made a warm feeling start to envelope my heart. All my worries and dread disappeared, my heart bursting through the metal cage that had enclosed it. Nature’s servants seemed to have freed me and given me new energy. I almost glowed with courage, strength, and happiness. And I watched. The pink vine-flowers with their thick claws struggling toward the sunshine. A new sprout pushing up from the ground, bringing with it new life and joy. Sweet honeysuckle growing in thick bushes, spreading their sugary perfume like a thick mist over everything. And best of all, a mother doe and her fawn grazing in a patch of leaves near the path. Chills went down my back in seeing this loving action. They were the most elegant thing I’d ever seen, with their delicate spindly legs and calm, warm brown eyes. If they’d noticed me, they didn’t seem to mind. I just stood there, a smile frozen on my face, watching with the roar of the waterfall in the background, the magic of nature spinning new life and love at its fullest.