(from May 28; Wilder Day 3; Post Mckenzie Trail Run)

The ground.

The earth.

All at once kind and terribly wild.

Beautiful and tangled.

Just like we all are sitting around this table.

Strong and different, full of secrets.

Full of life not yet revealed

and also covering over decay

of death of dreams of people.

Buried in the earth

rotting but still spurring new life,

full of promise.

Unexpected colors and shapes,

some so immense in size and

some so tiny you step on them without knowing.

This earth: f

all of surprise,

full of wonder and uncertainty,

with the power to grow and heal and

nourish

but also the power

to trip and mock and disappoint and

destroy.

What barometer can we use to determine what’s under the ground we rely on?

What measure can we use to determine the vast possibilities within a woman?

Our thoughts,

unspoken fears and dreams,

loves and hates,

prejudice and assumptions,

admiration and distain.

Talents and fault;

failures and triumphs.

The earth can create or destroy.

We can create life or destroy it.

What power we have without deserving!

What potential we have without worthiness!

Distractions

relieve us from the obligation of living as fully as we ought.

We train ourselves to numb emotions j

just as we train the land to bear the crops we want to harvest,

or the tree we want to grow.

We mar our beauty like we mar the ground around us.

We take away the wild and pave it and use make up.