rustling of leaves

I'm walking through a wood, and even at this time of year there are many dead leaves on the ground, and as I walk they rustle. Every now and again the wind blows, and that also causes the leaves to rustle. And if I close my eyes for a moment, this rustling sound touches me quite deeply.

For me it is a timeless sound. Human beings would have had this experience from the moment they came down from the trees and started walking upright. And this timelessness is a relaxation. It allows us to sink into ourself, and into a time when life was more simple. All of that is still within us, that long evolutionary history. And on that time frame, it's really only very recently that life has become so complicated, with complex societies, social rules, and more latterly, technology.

Returning to a more simple time allows us to get out of our heads a bit. Thinking can be very useful, but it's mostly needed because we lead such complicated lives. And one of the problems we're thinking so much, is that it creates a subtle tension in us. It's an effort. It's as if the brain is a muscle that's being worked all the time, never resting, never really relaxed.

And it's important that we relax. When we are not so busy with thoughts, when we relax into our being, then if we're lucky, we get in touch with that place inside us which is also timeless, that place that I call our essence, the core of our being. And it's beautiful for us to go to that place in ourself. When we touch that place, we know that all is well in the world. We know that there is nothing that needs to be done. Nothing is a problem. Life is, in itself, perfect. There's a simplicity in us when we reach that depth, and that very simplicity comes as a relief.

All of this is the gift that comes to me, when I hear the rustling sound of leaves.