Once Upon a Park Bench

There comes day in your life, when instead of bustling to get ready and rushing to work, you slip into loose pants and slippers, take a book and go out for a walk. You just amble on to the road with no agenda, and only a voice in your mind leads you on. You come across a little park, with tall old trees and dainty park benches, and you know this is where you are meant to be this morning. 

Coming up to this park was no coincidence. The more time I spent there, the more connected I felt. On the walking track paved around a wet green lawn, I found myself drawn to every tree. Young, old, middle-aged – each one had a different perspective, a different colour of wisdom to share. They gave me so much. I reached out too, resting my palms on the bark and feeling its cool energy making its way into my body. It was like meeting a bunch of friends, some old, some new. They reciprocated my thoughts and we shared an instant connect. ‘Be still.’ they said to me ‘Just be here, with us and listen. Listen for the unstruck sounds of this morning, here. They reverberate in our hearts for a reason. We share this space now, in this moment,’ they said, ‘So let us remain still and listen together.’

So I did. I sat there on a misty park-bench and listened. Even as my bare toes crushed the wet lawn grass between them, it crushed me back. The dead-weight all crushed out of my soles, I walked back light as a feather this morning. This morning – the most romantic morning of my life.