Wilderness and Meditation....

My love and I headed to elk country for the weekend. He has begun to explore the world of bow hunting and I gleefully hunt for wild...Huckleberries!!! We awoke in the dark, starry morning to hooting owls and donned our layers of clothes we eventually stuff into our packs as the sun warms us. Driving to the trailhead, we saw a mama moose and her baby. We walked in silence on the trail as the sun barely started bringing light. Elk were bugling! Have you ever heard it?! It is such an amazing, ancient sound (like a dinosaur)! They continued calling throughout the day and I savored my time, slowing picking berries, feeling like I was in the middle of Jurassic Park (although a lot calmer than if pterodactyls were flying overhead) . It felt immensely quiet in so many ways, yet nature is also so rarely quiet...birds chirping, squirrels throwing huge pine cones out of the trees, deer snorting and of course, elk bugling. Perhaps the quietness I am aware of is inside myself as the harvest transforms into a meditation. I noticed this as I was picking with my homegirl yesterday. We happily picked at different bushes, joyous to have time in the woods to catch up on life with each other. Our conversation slowly, naturally eased into silence... individually immersed in our moving meditation. As we grew out of sight of one another, we would occasionally give a hoot and a gentle return, just to check in.
So simple and so rich!!