Spirit of the Forest

I had the delicious pleasure of getting lost in the Arboretum today. The girls and I were wandering through the trees, up and down the hills, and we came upon this beautiful grove in a remote part of the park. The circle of trees blocked any signs of the main paths and there was no one else in sight. Even though Boston surrounds the park, and cars pass on all sides, it was silent. It truly looked like we were in a dense forest. I caught my breath at this Miyazaki moment and half expected the Great Spirit of the Forest to go walking through. My older daughter stopped and said "We're lost, we need to go back." The younger one sat in the grass and put her head down. I shivered and reassured them and we passed together through the trees and found a little bridge and the path back to a main road.

It was wonderful to be feel lost in the wilderness for those few moments. Even though we were in Boston, in a man made forest where all the trees have metal name tags, we were able to have a brief touch of transcendence. Thank you Frederick Law Olmstead!