Sunday May 1 at Mono Cliffs

“I am one of the first plants to come up because by doing so I help prepare the earth for the birthing of all the new plants in the spring, just like I help women give birth to their children.”

                                                                                                                           Blue Cohosh, Bruce Trail 2016

We started the second day of our plant journey at Mono Cliffs, as we walked across a field light rain fell on our faces.  We stopped at the edge of the forest, before entering we needed to learn how to walk.

We took our first steps as foxes, our feet shaking underneath as we got used to this new way of moving.  Our eyes widen, our minds quieted and we started to pay attention to the natural world who is always there quietly waiting for us to acknowledge her.  We walked in silence being guided by the forest floor, our soles had eyes, we began to trust and blend into the forest.

We are babies learning to walk, learning to see and experience life in a new way.  As we walked deeper into the woods it became very obvious that this journey is more than just learning plant names and uses.   This journey is about descending from our minds to our hearts and into the heart of nature.

We walked past old twisted trees, bright green moss, birch stands, and we contemplated silence at the edge of a cliff.  Then we were ready to climb down, with our comfort zones challenged our fears got set aside for we all recognized that this journey is worth it.  Just like the journey from our head to our heart is worth it.

On the lower side of the cliffs we met new plant friends and were greeted by some old ones.  We stopped by a stream and harvested some Willow under the watchful eye of our porcupine friend, he too shared his medicine with us that day.

A pinch of tobacco was left on a rock to give thanks for all the gifts we received.

And for the next eight months as we travel from our minds to our hearts we will become our mother earth, but become is not the right word because we already are her.  Just like animals are the earth and plants are the earth we too are the earth, we just need to remember it.