Fuller Brook Trail Walk - Reflections
This is a long weekend for us now. As dyed-in-the-wool lastminute.com-mers, we had made no plans to go out of town or even anything substantial. The upside to that is that we are having a relaxed weekend. It is Sunday evening, and it is such a welcome thought that we get to laze for one more day tomorrow before the work and school week begins.
After a buffet lunch at an Indian restaurant which put me in a food coma, I returned home and took a lazy Sunday afternoon nap. Once the weather cooled down for a bit, I stepped out to go on a trail walk.
There is a small brook that runs through our town, and there is a trail alongside, called the Fuller Brook Trail. It is a trail I frequently walk/run on, I quite enjoy the views all around.
I usually do my daily walk listening to music or podcasts or have phone conversations with friends and family. Today I went without my airpods, which are a standard part of of my walking gear. This meant I was alone with my thoughts and had myself for company. I must say, I am very fun to be with!
I had a few thoughts cross my mind during the walk today. I wished I was around and had access to a trail like this, growing up. I would have spent hours hanging by the water, watching it flow, would have thrown pebbles and twigs and everything else to see what would happen. I would have discovered the narrowest part of the brook and tried to cross over the brook at that point.
I watched the tiny squirrels and tiny rabbits and wondered what they do during winter (do they hibernate, do they not, how do they manage the cold winters). I saw the tree that reminded me of the Whomping Willow, and wondered what kind of tree it was, and how old do they have to be to get to those huge heights.
I wonder how plants have one bloom during the entire season; the whole tree is covered with flowers that last for two weeks, and then they don't bloom ever. Such a short window for procreation, given they will lose leaves during fall and operate on low activity levels for half the year. I wonder how flowers bloom in this fashion among the leaves.
I see the birds on the trees, some of them breathtaking in color and splendor, and realize I have no knowledge of their names, or their patterns or habitats.
I love the parts of the trail where the trees form a tunnel. The floor is today filled with fallen flowers and pollen. I am enveloped by the deep silence interspersed with the occasional chirping of the birds. The silence makes me feel safe. I was surprised the SAFE was the first emotion I felt in the silence and impending darkness at dusk.
That took me back to my childhood where silence and darkness were associated with the opposite of safety, fear. I grew up in Coimbatore, possibly one of the safest cities in India. Yet, I was conditioned to believe that it was unsafe for me, as a girl, to be out by myself in the dark. When I started to walk by myself in the dark winters, I did not feel unsafe, that I live in a very safe town is certainly helpful. But the freedom that the perceived safety provides is just amazing. I remember thinking, "Is this how men feel all the time?"
All in all, a deeply satisfying walk!
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