• ~ Birch Leaf Falling Day!! ~ •

The golden Autumn light swirling in free fall
Alighting the moment with alchemy
Bringing light and life
Releasing her burdens gently, in a cascade of motion.

The Birchtree, along with all the trees are releasing their leaves now,.
And with this they turn the dial up on Beauty!

The fire within the trees decorates the air raucously, audaciously, and in brilliance ~ dancing unapologetically, and without reservation or shyness, knowing that soon their efforts will bring complete transformation to the hillsides. Surrendering to life and death.
There is a mistiness today, perhaps called by the trees, to compliment the canvas that arrives with the misty coolness, and just in time; the moisture washes the dust off the mirror of my soul. And, the wind has joined the party today, creating mirth and helping the trees to release by blowing the leaves tumultuously into the air.

The Earth, the blessed kind Earth, receives this Golden Abundance with open arms. The tree blow their kisses to earth, and the leaves lay themselves gently on her, blanketing her gentleness with the mantle of their love.

Here, in the forest, the elements are In LOVE with each other! Unabashedly, unashamedly, freely, raucously in love. That which started as an idea within the Earth, last February, returns to her once again, completing the cycle of magic.

This alchemy, which the trees play in, is a relief of balance; a hint of forces unseen, a balance of inbreathe and out, a demonstration of the living yin and yang, or mysteries I can only begin to dream of.
I seek and study this balance where elements may interact and flow with ease within the whole, where there resides a home for All of life. The trees and forest create a playground of diversity, an expression of laughter, a unity in alchemy and disorder, an experiment in the expression of the many to the bring the song of the One to creation.

Also, I notice that the elements of fire, water, air, earth and wind interact in variable amounts in any given moment in nature. And occasionally, each is given free opportunity for full and outrageous expression. That moving dance of the elements may look a little like this~

Starting with Autumn, as that is the season I am in, I can see that the season infuses the very air with its Fire, I am drawn to the intense colors of red, orange and yellow. Then there is an urge within me to rise and greet the Winds. The moving Air delights in tossing the leaves off the trees, swirling them up, up, up up, until at some unseen point, they are released, allowing them to dance their way back down to Earth. The winds of late Autumn can also stir up more than leaves, when darker storm clouds arrive, bring needed Water and other swirling stories.

Some days, the trees call in the Waters in such quantity ~ great rains and snows that steep their roots, soaking deep into the Earth; during these days, it can feel that no fire will ever feel possible again.

During these days, when not any of the summer fire or fire of life can be felt or remembered to this one human, I seek inner ground, knowing if the trees can do it, so can I. And then, at last, arrives the Winter quiet, when all is still and deep, like the thoughtful restful Earth herself. This time nourishes and grounds me.

Eventually, the early Spring Sun begins to warm the Earth, initially with a quiet fire, allowing life to emerge above from deep underground ground. Then, we all emerge washed in Spring Rains, ready for new dreams, new hope, new Fire. Spring with its own inner balance of elements will lead us to the next season and on...

The ever shifting balance of inner and outer elements expresses itself through this day. All elements dancing together in life, bringing life.
So much more can be said about this moving cycle and the whole~ How blessed I am to have such wise, persistent teachers. In this dance, the forest turns on in the great Wheel of life with grace, majesty, and above all Beauty.

I was hesitant to write this post in a time when elements rage so painfully in other forests, when precious beauty seems lost in burning fires. Still, I hope if I follow the example of the trees and learn to balance my own inner elements, perhaps it may bring greater balance without. Below are the questions I have found in these days to address my own path, my balance (or imbalance) and my moving dance.

My fires that burn within, How can I toss and swirl with them, expressing them safely, allowing them to burn until the lessons are learned?
The rains that soak me with grief, How can I welcome them to nourish and cool me?
The winds that toss and bend me, How can I sway flexibly with them, surrendering to them and laughing as a falling birch leaf?
The blankets of quiet and stillness on solid ground, How can I welcome and embrace this now with the nourishing rest it gives?

Those are my musings for now, on elements and balance. I am sure more will arrive, but I wish to post this blog before it gets any longer!
One more quote from a wise one~

"If the storm has already arrived and your heart is too sad to dance, just wait. Let the sound of rain soothe you. Catch storm water. Touch the Earth."
Leah Whitehorse

Also, the Venus Muse page is alive and well, with new writings, if interested, here is the link: https://inlightofthetrees.com/venus-muse/

From an excursion out at night:
The sun is behind a thick layer of clouds tonight. Clouds and Fog. A gift.
A gift to be surrounded by so much moisture. I came up the mountain to watch what would unfold. To be with the All.

As I sit on the rock, to watch the fog roll across the trees and close hills, a wind shifts, allowing the bank to lift seamlessly, effortlessly, revealing a vision of orange and pink, colors outlining an opening in the distant clouds. A glowing pink of cloudness, backlit by a setting sun. It is an opening that had been invisible, hidden behind fog, and now seen and held in this moment of time. The fog parts long enough to reveal the existence of Light. Then fog dances quickly back into place, like a wave of the ocean, tossing and rolling in its own destiny, in its own timing.

My camera does not quite catch the clarity of outline and light revealed. So I inhale and watch. And then, to my surprise and awe, a flash of lightening lights the same distant cloud. Then another, and another, lighting up the far bank of gray. And then joining me to witness the display of light in the dark, arrives a lone Night hawk who flies a few feet over my head on her mission; she graces me too with increased awe, as she flies on, in her own path.

Oh, Yes

Oh, Great Spirit, thank you. And may I remember this moment, this glow, this throbbing pink of clouds, this gift. May I remember that hope lies beyond the fog, like a warm ray of sunshine breaking through all doubt. May I remember my own throbbing heart in the midst of the unseen. Shine on, shine on dear heart. Shine on in the dark. Your shining, is my light for my flight.

(This is the closest image of those clouds as seen by my camera)