You begin to walk up the path. It is slow going as the path is very narrow and filled with loose stones and at times overgrown with vines and small shrubs, even other outcroppings of rocks like the first one you passed. But you know that these cairns are not for you. And so you nod to them as you would nod to a fellow traveler resting by the wayside and slowly continue your walk.

By now you find that your breath has balanced out and it is an easy thing to breathe only through your nose, releasing the air through your mouth with a bit of a sigh. A sigh so low no other would hear it. It is the beginnings of your song and is not meant for others. But as you walk, it slowly increases in complexity and you find it comforting to carry it with you.

You look up from the path and turn to look behind you, surprised to see that the copse you so recently left is almost out of sight. You are amazed to see you have come so far in what has seemed such a short time.  You find another large stone to stop and sit on for a bit. And now you let your song float free on the breeze.

ß-can you hear your song in your mind? How does it feel to you?-à

It fills you deep as the breaths you’ve been taking. It even moves that breath further down into your belly. It is filling you with an energy you recognize as you sing but you know you have never heard this song before. You are enchanted by this, and filled with a glow of energy that shimmers over you as you mouth the sounds of your song. You stay here for a bit but after a certain time you rise again and look ahead to see where the path will take you next.

Again you start to climb up the path And it is a climb now, where it was a stroll before. You must once again concentrate on your breathing. As you slow your walk down so too does your breath once more fill your nose and exit through your mouth. And you again notice the difference your song has made. For the song still hums within your head and fills you more deeply with each turn of its cycle.

You become one with the song, even as it slowly shifts to become one with each breath. Again you recognize that you do not know this song, but now there is a bit of doubt in that thought. Perhaps you’ve heard this song on the wind some clear and star filled night. Perhaps not, but the question hangs in the air around you.

ß-where might you have heard it?-à

As you travel up and up again the path switches back and forth across the hillside. A part of you wants to just walk straight up the hill, and you begin to take a step off the corner of the switchback to stride up the hill. Immediately the song stops and your breath is hard to pull into your body. You recall stories you’ve heard that ignoring the switchbacks and walking straight up the hills causes the rain to be able to run down the hill with a greater, increasing strength if a path is made for it.

You remember that, just as in your life, it is necessary to follow the turnings of the path and avoid the short cuts. And as you put away your annoyance you step back onto the path and the Song begins again with such joy in it you almost weep. You tried to take a seemingly easier way but your spirit knew it was wrong for you and now you are once again on the right path. Easy does not always mean it is right.

ß-do you tend to take the easy path through your life?-à

You begin to pick your way carefully on up the path and with each step the breath fills you and fills you more deeply each time you breathe. In fact it has become so natural for you to bring the breath into your body this way that it has moved from your conscious mind to the instinctual, knowing this is the correct way to breathe.

You can see the skyline so much closer to you now, and you pause and look back towards the copse and it is so very far away now you can barely glimpse it as a slightly darker spot on the trail. But as you swing your gaze to the right you see that you can still see the wider  path and it has grown to the size of a road and there are many people walking on it.

You turn your gaze back to the path you have followed and there is no one in sight. You begin to feel somewhat anxious. What if you have made the wrong choice?! Will you be alone all the day or will you meet more people like yourself – the ones who strike out on the more demanding, but so much more rewarding trail. You take an extra breath or two until this momentary anxiety gradually fades away.

ß-how do you feel about choosing your own way, regardless of others?-à

You turn back towards your path and continue on up the mountain.

And mountain this is. You could not tell from the copse just where this path might lead, unlike the other which you could see for miles. You see that you are approaching a forest now, and even the bright sunlight of late morning does not fully penetrate into the depths.

Once again your fear rises up inside you – the primeval fear of the woods – dark and brooding. Once again you pause and let your breath slow until you feel centered in your own self once again and you boldly step into the forest.

ß- do you fear the woods and primal Nature in your life? What does it mean to you?-à

As soon as you enter the forest you feel a shift in the energy of the place. Part of it is the higher humidity you felt in the copse. But it is far more than that. You hear the wind gently whispering thru the trees and you hear the trees respond with their own songs as the breeze travels through them.

ß---you listen closely – what do you hear?--à

You find that your song is in perfect harmony with this gentle song of the forest and your fears dissipate as you continue to walk into the woods. The path has gone smooth and easy to travel inside the forest. Though the floor of the copse was relatively free of plants under the trees, here there is no undergrowth at all.

The soil is covered by the detritus of the trees as they have shed their leaves, needles, cones and branches for such a long time that the mulch is indeed very thick and though you can follow the path quite easily now you find that you are almost bouncing along on the springiness of the carpet made by the trees.