http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-heart-of-green.html
The Heart of Green
As I get older all I want to decorate with are rocks, leaves, pieces of wood, some beeswax candles. When I travel I find myself bringing home cones from trees unusual to my locale, or new stones that have been polished by the sea, and they adorn my windowsills and table stands.
One of my desks looks out on a black birch forest, and this is where I brought my laptop today. Black birch are very tall, straight deciduous trees, and these here are old-growth with few lower branches. You can look a long way into the forest, its floor blanketed with fallen leaves and without brush. When I sat down to write I fully intended to discuss the definition of green. But looking out at the forest I saw some gold-orange leaves float to the ground, slowly, gracefully, and gently, and the beauty arrested my attention. I often see a pair of foxes in the forest. They are especially vivid in the winter, against the snow. A bit ago a young stag walked by; his horns were about 8 inches long. I am surprised that my dogs didn’t start barking, but they are in bliss by the warm wood stove and couldn’t be bothered to rouse themselves.
I tell my daughter that when I die I hope the only “stuff” she will have to get rid of, all that will be left, are a lot of stones, cones, nothing that she can’t just throw into the woods. Unless she wants these bits of nature as her own companions, in which case I hope she enjoys them as much as I have. Each has its own story.
A friend called to say that when she was on her walk this morning she passed a woman who said, “It is so peaceful today.” My friend started paying attention, agreed, and called me so that I, too, might pay attention to how unusually peaceful everything feels today. I’m off for a walk when I finish writing this piece, in fact, to bathe myself in the peace.
I realize that I bring pieces of the peace inside with me when I decorate with stones and wood. The peace is in the very makeup of my collections. Being in tune with the peace of them is part of paying attention, and maybe this is why I am so content decorating with a number of rocks lined up on a windowsill. They seem to be holding the peace in my home.
What was I to write about again? Oh, the definition of green. I think I just told you about my definition of green when I became sidetracked looking out at the black birch forest: Items that have nature’s true signature in their composition while not harming our health, and that can go back to where they came from without a trace.
Thanksgiving Decorating with Nature
Nature’s Harvest Table
A Sacred Four-Directions Holiday Table
Mystic Symbols of the Harvest
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Nice article Annie. I collect flowers from my yard and photos of interesting or beautiful scenes I see on my walks. I totally understand the peaceful feeling you're talking about. I get it every time I work in my yard or garden. As humans we tend to forget that we are just another creature and connected to everything else. We need that grounded feeling we get from staying connected to the natural world.
Lars, your "truth" is strictly YOUR TRUTH. Truth is different for everyone. Accept that, and stop trying to convince others to see it your way. I was raised Mormon and later dabbled with several christian denominations. None of them provided any peace for me, or even made any sense to me. I'm now Buddhist and have finally found some peace, contentment, logic and compassion. That's MY truth.
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Annie,
The notes in my diary echo the thoughts in your article. I also fill my home and yard with stones, and things, from nature. I know the stone I bought from Orkney Island from the stone I bought from Acadia. Each has its own unique markings from the passage of time.
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Long-time reader, first-time writer. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this article given that I ordinarily read for practical purposes and the fact that this article has limited apparent practical use. But it really was wonderful to read. Thank you for sharing this. =) You've inspired me for my daily life and my decorating.
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Hi leta,
You say you're sorry so many (of the contributors to this column) do not connect with stones and wood pieces. But the disturbing truth is precisely the opposite - everyone does except me !!!
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Hi Michelle. It's good you're thankful for the world's beauty, and so am I. But how can you say you hope it can be preserved for the future when it is being destroyed right before your eyes right now?
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Hi Lars,
I also worship the one Creator and not the created, but there's no harm in appreciating what He made for us to enjoy. In the day-to-day bustle of life, we have to take some time to reflect on life's little pleasures. I feel more connected to God when I get close to nature. I am thankful for the world's beauty and hope it can be preserved for our future generations.
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I'm sorry so many of you don't connect with the stones and/or wood part of nature. My experience has been the wonderful things evoked within myself when i feel the stone, and look at the colors or patterns. the images the textures, the way it holds warmth or not, hidden there.... If it happens to have been a beach stone, it takes me back to seeing the beach and what it felt like to be there when i discovered that one stone. maybe it's like beauty being in the eye of the beholder...i have had a wonderfully rich life in many places, and always could find some tree, some stone, some flower or even a lizard skeleton, for me to reconnect my breath today with the wealth of feelings and images inside. They're always there and only need to be evoked by some precipitant outside...sometimes i feel that if i were locked up with no way to be outside, i could make it on what i've done with my life this far.
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Collect all the cones and stones you want. Just don't expect to find any peace in them. Simple as that.
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