Forest Bath

Ginter Garden Stream

Broiling, steaming heat
falls away in soft shadows…
swirling, dancing leaves

I’ve always believed trees could communicate with one another…I’m not sure how I reached such a conclusion since trees were a scarcity where I grew up. I’ve read somewhere science has proven tree roots carry nature’s danger signals to other trees. I wonder about trees that stand all by themselves.

My photo workshop project this week from George Nobechi’s “Japanese Sensibility In Photographic Practice” had me searching to find examples of “Komorebi,” a Japanese word not directly translating to a single English word. Komorebi is a sense, an emotion, a feeling about walking in the forest. If you walk slowly, the sunlight seems to dance on the forest floor with the cool shadows of the leaves.

I think Komorebi is one element or could be one element of a “Forest Bath.” The Forest Bath, or the Japanese medicine of Shinrin-yoku (Forest Therapy) is walking in the forest, taking your time, breathing deeply, and immersing yourself into the experience. All of this can bring you peace and calm. You don’t need an entire forest, or even a grove, a single tree will do. Go out to your tree or trees, stand in the shade and watch the shadows of the leaves. Take a deep breath and think of your dancing leaf shadows spreading calm onto the chaos. If your mind starts to wander, concentrate on your breath and pick out the best dancing leaf in the shadows. Leaves, sunshine, a light breeze and you.

Komorebi.

I wrote the leading haiku yesterday after walking in the heat across a long field in the sunshine and entering the line of trees at the end of the field, next to the river. Not only did the heat go away, I sensed the calm. Pretty cool.

Morning sunshine