Forest Trail: "Tempting Return"
Go Forward or backward?
(Forest Trail - photo by Neil Barker - May 25, 2024)
A sunshine-filled trail, greenery all around, sounds of Nature.
Pause to wonder and enjoy those sights and sounds, a decision:
Return the way you have come or go forward what do you do?
I took these photo on May 25, 2024. I have passed this trail probably hundreds of times in the past few years. On this morning hike, I happened to stop and look back and catch the sun shining down this path.
I was nearing the end of my hike and felt a strong pull to go back down this path. Part of me wanted to see what the path looked like in the full sunshine. However, I chose not to backtrack and instead stood for a few seconds simply enjoying this view.
Reflecting back on this memory, I am glad I chose to not walk back and peek around the corner to view the sunshine on the path. I am not sure why, but I like having my imagination fill in the image of what the trail and the sunshine would have looked like rather than simply documenting it with my eyes and my camera.
Standing in front of all that power and beauty does heal our ailments. It sounds as if a voice in your head, your imner self, said "be still and silent." You got a glimpse into Greatness.
Beautiful post, Neil. It is enlivening to be in the woods and see the sunshine on a stretch of trail and realize how we have a choice as to how to engage with the environment, how to proceed, where to go. Thank you for sharing this moment which takes us beyond the mere factual and into the stuff of poets.