Monday, May 30, 2011

Meditative Woodland Walk at Longwood Gardens...

Many public gardens and arboretums across the country contain backcountry trails in addition to their more public offerings. These woodland trails offer up quiet and solitude and are a great way to get away from the bustle of the crowds.

A newly created and specially designed meditative woodland walk at Longwood Gardens in Chaddsford, PA. encourages you to temporarily leave the more groomed gardens behind and come into the forest. The idea being to walk or sit quietly and take in the woods and see what nature can offer you.

My husband and I recently recently took advantage of the woodland walk at Longwood Gardens and it didn't take long until the voices of people were replaced by birdsong, hot pavement replaced a dirt path, cool shade overhead. A welcome respite!

I thought the trailside banners, filled with contemplative quotes were a nice touch, reminding you to be quiet and listen, slow down and notice.

I especially loved the above quote. "What did the tree learn from the earth to be able to talk with the sky?" Makes me wonder what we humans could learn from the earth in order to be able to talk with the sky. That if we humans could become more in touch with the natural world, the sky could teach us many things about what really is important in life. I envision our rootedness in the natural world leading us to reach higher and higher, searching for a new way of living in the world.

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