Ten
minutes after leaving my car, my feet covered with red dust, I stop,
with grattitude and trust, to gaze out over the falls and "feel" for
webstrings. Far below I see
folks Rainbow Trout fishing in this popular trout creek. Turning left I
wander westward up along Falls Creek drawn by the attraction of the
cool water, the sun, above, playing hide-and-seek behind billowing
white clouds that offsets an unchanging backdrop of blue sky. A truly
Zen day!!
Following
the attraction to "coolness" I leave the foot/horse trail,
cross the creek and pick an animal run that continues westward but
leads
uphill, angling away from the creek through brush and pines; heading
toward a wonder spot I remember with a cool pool and pine needle
covered ground when suddenly I am stopped!! Thatched saplings and
brambles provide me with "guidance": I retreat and head further up
stream following new runs that move still higher and then down; to a
spot, I've never seen before...a pool, small, but fed by a beautiful,
cascade of sparkling water, over a moss covered sheet of rock. Crossing
back over the creek , I ask for permission to stay and feel an increase
in the intensity of the wonder and beauty that surrounds me.
Removing
my sandals, I lie down on the dry rock surface that flows into the
pool, close my eyes and listen to the water happily splashing in front
of me. To my right I hear more of this same "laughter" slightly
upstream and ditto to my left (Wonderful stereo!! Is it not??). I know
the pool is
trout filled for I saw them dart under the rocks as I approached and
thank them for their presence. I feel the sun emerge from behind a
cloud and "see" the bright red of blood in my eye lids.
Scooting
along the rock surface (eyes still closed), I feel its gentle
warmth with my hands and the the cool wetness on my heels...my arches,
then toes...ankles and calves as I partially enter the pool. Suddenly,
my mind's eye sees everything around me in vivid detail: rocks and
water and grass and trees and birds and blue and white and... I am
startled to "see" things with such clarity !!
I
sit up and lean forward, the bright red "visual" being replaced with a
deep purple as I "look" down and away from the sun...What a wonder to
"observe" with one's eyes closed. To see coolness and bubbling water;
insects feasting on you; birds everywhere and hardness under buttocks
and the warmth on my palms.
Opening
my eyes I notice the trout have returned, their yellow/green backs
speckled to look like the sunlit pool bottom (What a glorious natural
camouflage!); the water glinting in the sun, forming happy, clear
bubbles as it splashes into the pool.
The
pool is smaller than I had, at first, thought. Only about fifteen feet
in diameter and two feet at its deepest. On the far side of the creek I
SEE the grass that was in my mind's eye before and I see a wonderful
rock diverting the water. Like the spine of some prehistoric being it
rises--wet moss at its base, then moss dry from a long absence of
moisture, and along this edge of wet and dry leafy plant clinging;
then, the rock turns red and is speckled with gray and dark green
lichen; finally, it recedes into the green grass beyond.
I
am stricken by how very sight biased I am. How wonderful it is to see;
yes, but also what beauty there is in closing one's eyes and "looking"
with my other senses. This, more than most any other way of sensing
allows me to come to build trust and realize that other senses actually
exist.
Looking
back into the pool, I see the trout have accepted me, now. One or two
have moved to with six inches of my toes and they are snapping at
insects in front of me. They range in size from three or four inches to
some fifteen inches in length and I can't help but wonder how they came
to here four to seven story falls both up and down stream...can't help
but feel a sense of awe at the balance of life in this tiny place
before me.
I
am overcome with gratitude!! For the webstrings that I am coming more
and more to trust in each of the places I have visited lately; for the
webthreads that have brought each of us together using this
"world-wide-web"!!
My
trust in knowing these attractions grows everyday now. It has been a
long time since I've spent time in the woods blindfolded (I keep
promising myself that I'll do it once a month!!). I learn, now, how
much I've missed it and I recall that in all the time I have spent bare
foot in the high desert areas, I have never stepped on a prickly pear
cactus (though they are everywhere and I seldom look down). This shows
me that I have come to trust at a deep level, that yes, or eyes are
wonderful but over dependence on them dulls other modes of
experiencing."
CONTINUE