mossy tree

I have just been hugging a tree, here in Himachal Pradesh, in India. And this particular tree was covered in moss. Its whole trunk, and all of its branches, were completely clothed in a deep green, soft moss. And what I noticed is, this soft covering made the tree even more huggable than it would have been otherwise. As I pressed my forehead against it, I could feel myself relaxing into its softness. Ahh.

And it made me think about hugs: how sometimes, when one is hugging, one can be rather rigid, hard, and at other times, so soft and yielding. And how much more comforting and welcoming, is that softness. And what does it take to be soft? For this tree it takes a clean environment, clean air up in the hills here, and clean water too. Without pollution this tree can be a beautiful host to the moss.

And in a way it's the same for us humans. What allows us to become soft, is the right environment: one that is not too polluted, one that is not too fraught, one where we ourself can relax. And in that relaxation we become soft to others, and welcoming, and comforting. And when we meet each other like this, then we are really hugging. Then we are beginning to melt into each other. Then our warmth is shared. This is the way for us to be together, not tough and hard, but soft, yielding, warm and welcoming.

So I hope I have learned something from this beautiful mossy tree, and the lovely hug it shared with me. I hope that when I hug other people, I can remember this moment and soften.