Praying in a forested cathedral

Humbled and hushed
London, ON
September 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've been doing this thing lately: I pick up my camera and go for a walk in the woods.

Part of it is exercise: Those step goals silently mock me from the smartwatch on my wrist, and I owe my family a healthy Carmi.

Another part is creative. Exploring the world through new glass is a privilege, and only by using the thing with my bare hands will I figure out how to unlock its - and I'm guessing my - visual storytelling potential. 

The final and likely most critical part is disconnection, because it's overwhelming to be alive these days. 

Don't get me wrong: It absolutely beats the alternative. But still, Planet Earth has become an insanely noisy place, and we all deserve some refuge. Disclosure: Some days I need it more than others. So here I am, in a valley carved over the millennia by the quiet brook just behind me.

A stand of towering trees covers the entire sky way above my head, casting a protective shadow over the slope you see here. I stop in the hushed silence to take the scene in, not so much look at it as feel it in my bones. You can smell the peacefulness of this place. I wish I could bottle it up and take it home.

"Cathedral" often floats through my head when I stand under tall trees. I'm not one to pray, and even if I were it wouldn't be in a cathedral. But it somehow feels right to appreciate this spot for what it is: A place to reflect, connect, and recharge.

The rest of the world can wait for a while.

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