It’s here.The wild end of Autumn. Trees with few leaves, shaking and holding on in cold bursts of wind. A messy landscape revealed in the wet detritus of bent branches, brown leaves stamped on wet ground.
The trees know the long inward march and the icy edges of snow. Tough bark limits the bite of cold. Trees will watch another parade of winter with equanimity. Their bodies will hold a living record of this time. Then, their leaves will grow again. They will stand, roots sunk deep, with winter.
We know cold, how it chills, wakes us up, burn the skin. We anticipate, sometimes wrongly, the stretch of winter months. We have the slant of perception; historical and personal. We look backward, wincing over mistakes, reliving the shock and fear of past traumas. We have learned how the bitterest regrets become scars.
Whatever future humans choose, they will stand knowing they played a part in it. Learned helplessness is believing you are unable to change a situation. You stand, frozen, not just feeling but as trauma has convinced you, knowing you are helpless. Fear has a powerful, compelling voice answering every protest with a tiny bit of truth.
So, I will remind you and me. Respectfully because fear can be good and bad. You could give yourself a chance. You know doing nothing will mean damage; your own pain and disappointment will happen inside you. Listening to helplessness is not standing and doing nothing. It is actively taking in fear.
When I walk my dog through stands of Maple, Oaks and Ash trees, I feel comfort. Together, trees are a forest whose peace calms my fearful, what if, heart. I remind myself I am here now, spending time among them while they stand swaying in a fearful wind. I remind myself of their age, their strength in standing with the endless seasons. And I stand with them, breathing in this winey scented, unpredictable, wild world. Then, I walk on.
It’s why I love walking. Each step, however hesitant, moves me forward. And has done so, from my very first toddling steps. Each step moves all of us and each of us, forward. We are walking into our future every day. Let’s take a step.