Izumi Tanaka

It’s been so busy.  Plus, the demolition of the hospital building on the next block has been annoyingly noisy for the last month or so.  I took a breath and heard the trees and birds in the woods.

We drove up to Mt. Pinos for a short hike.  Everytime we go there, I’m always amazed to see some charred trees.  The lightening must hit them during the storms.  It must be magnificently fierce and mighty to strike these huge trees and leave them standing half charred like this.   Although it would be a very scary thing to witness, it still fascinates me.

We made a quick trip up to our mountain house last night to move a bed.  As we woke up this morning, we walked through our favorite path in the forest to get to town for a little croissant and tea.  Though the bakery was closed today, we got a taste of the peaceful forest energy before getting back to the hectic city life.  Truly blessed….

I went up to the mountains last Saturday for the weekend and woke up feeling sick on Sunday.  What better place is there to be sick surrounded by pine trees, lots of birds, and blue sky?!  Well, Monday morning I woke up to this snow wonderland!  The drizzle that started Sunday afternoon turned to snow at night and left about 6 inches of the wet white blanket all around.    During the course of the day on Monday, most of the snow melted away, but my flu bug hung around for another three days….  I’m finally back in the city and at my desk on Friday afternoon.  I must say I’m lucky that I got to convalesce in fresh and clean air at 5500 feet high under the piercingly blue sky — yes, I did soak some healing energy of the sun on my deck everyday.

It was a sad day today.  We said “Good Bye” to Collette, my sister-in-law.  I have been aware we get to see family members we hardly see when someone makes transition to the other side as we gather for farewell.  And we know one day our turn will come, which makes each day of our life more precious.  As the sun goes down at the end of the day, I say “Thank you” for the day I’ve just had.  “See you again tomorrow.”

I have to go into the woods every once in a while to connect with the Source.  When I get really quiet surrounded by big trees, I can almost hear them saying, “We got you…”  So I go on with my day trusting.

It’s humbling to be under big trees.  It reminds me how tiny my existence is, yet gives me an enormous sense of comfort that I am embraced by Mother Nature.

My husband and I are up in our mountain retreat. Our favorite thing to do is hiking around our mountains…. I savor the fresh air, the sound of the trees, and the quiet.