07/07/2025
Well, that was a weekend of contrasts, and quite surreal in some respects. On Saturday I was back on Pen-Y-Fan for another Fan Dance, and on Saturday we returned to Hatfield Forest for HNHY's latest Forest Bathing session. I have an understanding with trees, we get on very well. Whether I'm sitting under one or climbing into it's canopy, we are at peace with each other and sit comfortably with the silence (or otherwise) of the other, knowing that we each have a place at Mother Earth's table and an equal part in helping to maintain the balance. Until a year ago my relationship with the Mountain couldn't have been any more than the polar opposite of that harmony. Until that point I had always seen the Fan as an opponent - enemy is too strong a word - that I had to give my absolute all for to overcome or be chewed up and spat out as a sobbing, broken wreck at her feet. Every battle with her was going to be the final one and I would ultimately cede victory to her. But last year something changed and I woke up to the fact that the Mountain had no malice towards me, and certainly wished me no harm. That had all been in my head; that was the story my brain mind had written for me. So last July I decided that I was going to do things differently and approach Pen-Y-Fan as I would a tree, with respect and appreciation. A blessing was made, a conversation was had and we became equals, partners, relations. Now, whether it be Summer or Winter (and let's face it, there isn't much difference on a mountain!), it has become like visiting an old friend and spending some quality time together. Then yesterday in the Forest, we met with a group of beautiful souls who had chosen to join us to spend some time away from the routine and rigidity of societal expectation and deepen their connection with the natural world that we were all once such an intrinsic part of. Trees were found, senses were awoken, time & stress was forgotten as they barefooted their way around the Forest before embracing the thunderstorm and dancing in the rain! Some moments stay with you forever, and that will certainly be one of them. The weekend also came as a timely reminder that, whether you have a mountain to climb (real or metaphorical), or you need to spend some time sitting beneath a tree forgetting the rest of the world, or maybe you just want to let your inner child out and dance barefoot in the rain, don't feel that you have to be a slave to the story that others have written for you - JUST BE!
