I was sitting in a Park at a little table, eating lunch along a gently winding brick path. It sat by an office building full of glass. I was sitting eating and playing on my phone when all of a sudden it went flat. I was immediately annoyed. All I wanted was to shut out the work world, listen to music or look for any other distraction. So I was forced to sit quietly with only my thoughts and the wind.
Thankfully, I was alone. I didn’t want to make small talk for this short period.
So I sat quietly. and began to observe my environment.
It began to filter into my consciousness.
A bird flapped close to me as she found a branch to rest on
She looked down on me with one eye
She was letting me know she saw me
I smiled at her
How sweet.
I love birds
The tree she was perched in was a Japanese Maple.
It was a perfect spring day
There were three maples alongside the gently winding brick path
They had their new spring leaves
Beautiful small green stars connecting and stretched outwards and upwards
The green was vivid and brilliant as the sun shone through them, lighting them up even more than usual
They had their boughs open like worshippers praising God
They felt angelic…..and a little out of place, even alien in this environment.
I began to see into their minds
Wise
Loving
Open
They never seemed to look below them
Yet everything beneath them was sheltered and it was pleasurable to sit beneath them.
They brought gentle beauty to an otherwise cold and harsh environment
When the wind moved them, they whispered gently to each other
They were asking many deep questions to the universe, philosophising, speaking of purpose, of things to come and what constitutes wisdom.
They never really engaged much with what was below them.
Yet everything was nurtured, cared for and beauty was their very existence.
They never hurried or worried
You could feel their longing and absolute focus and wonder about the things they discussed
And their desire to return to the heavens
Their beauty was beyond what the landscape could produce on it’s own
They had a radiance that everybody could enjoy and benefit from
Yet this was not where they belonged
All visitors loved them
Appreciated them
But they had little awareness of this nor concern about it
People and creatures sat beneath them without asking any questions
Such as where did they come from?
They simply sat and felt the energy of the Maples but didn’t understand what healed them or calmed them
They were a stark contrast to everything that surrounded them
Other small plants had been placed beside them also
Large clumping grasses
They also spoke to me this day
They sat side by side in an orderly line alongside the building and some also along the winding brick path
They also sat in the stark landscape with reddened rough cut man made stones as their mulch
It was funny that I hadn’t noticed this harsh landscape when I was looking at the Japanese Maples
Yet now as I looked down, it suddenly became quite apparent.
Some of the clumping grasses stood quite tall
Almost as tall as a grown man
They were planted in a linear fashion to follow the building
Some were still quite young
Their leaves were like long fingers that fell over at various angles
The wind moved in them too
I could hear them speaking almost in unison!
The big ones had deep voices whilst the young ones had squeakier and higher pitched notes
Their energy was in complete opposition to the maples (who honestly didn’t pay them any attentional at all)
They were busy when the wind moved them
Urgent confident and firm
They never asked any questions
They were busy telling everyone what to do or they were completely silent
They only spoke a couple of things. Such as…
“Come on, come on, come on”
“This way everybody, this way.”
“Come on, come on, come on”
Their leaves beckoned like hands waving you down a queue
“This way folks, keep going everybody, keep going”
“This way, this way, this way”
They reminded me of traffic controllers with little grey moustaches, waving white gloved hands
“This way, this way, this way”
“Come on, come on, come on”
“Hurry along now madam”
“Get along now Sir”
“Come on, come on, come on.”
Every time the wind changed so did their direction
“This way now sir, come on, get a wriggle on M’am, come on, come on come on come on”
“That’s the way.” They would say with delight and approval if you followed their direction, you could almost see them nod in approval when you did.
When the wind was still, they remained completely still and completely silent
They belonged here
It’s as if they had always been here
It was an ancient place where red dust had lived for thousands of centuries
Stones and tall grasses
This was their natural landscape
The grasses had been performing these duties for many centuries.
There was little need for them to evolve or change
They had no interest in the sky
They didn’t ever look up
Because they had no questions.
They had everything they were made for right where they were
They had their job
They had their security
They had their purpose
They were satisfied
The wind their only interest.
For a minute I laughed at this and their simplicity
For a minute I thought this was really sweet
And a little charming
But as their message never changed
No matter where the wind blew them
It began to make me feel frustrated and bothered
Here they sat beneath beauty and wisdom
Yet no matter what surrounded them, they could not ….or would not look up to see beyond them and all the beauty that surrounded them.
They sat happily in rocks dull and silent or urgent and busy
Never changing
Growing yet never changing
How is this possible? I thought
I felt repelled
Hearing their repetitive words over and over again and never looking up to see their surrounds
It almost drove me to madness
I wanted to shut them out and move away from them
So I looked up at the vibrant green canopy above me and thanked the Japanese Maples
Wishing to join them
Wishing to turn my back on the Grasses and their endless, pointless talk, that never went anywhere and never brought any beauty or wisdom or purpose.
Little Wren 