A lovely, thoughtful post, Justyna - both the prose and the poem.
Maybe because walking in nature is my own means to meditation and clarity, I responded very strongly to this. Your forest and fields will be very different to the Australian "bush" as we call it - but the effect is the same. There are days when the sky and the leaves and the rain feel like familiar clothes, and I pull them on, luxuriating in the feeling of them all against my skin.
As you say:
"In other words, life speaks
to us most directly through
our bare, rough humanness."
I am jealous of your spectacular typewriter! You will put it to good use...
My horizon today is a soft interface of moist grey cloud and deep eucalypt green, as rain flows over the river by which we live, and across the low hills beyond.
In my life, I am blooming again as a writer - after a 22 year absence from publishing my work.
And what am I learning to let be, just as it is? Mmmm... that would be aspects of my past. Old loves and old griefs. My writing helps with that.
Thank you so much for your beautiful, thoughtful words—and welcome back to the world of writing and publishing! :) It’s clear that the way you move with words is rare and captivating, and I’m so glad to hear that you are blooming again in your creative life.
Your description of the moist grey clouds and deep eucalypt greens is so touching, I can almost feel it! I lived in Portugal for six months last year and deeply miss the scent and presence of the eucalyptus trees there; reading your words brought that memory rushing back—thank you:)
It sounds like you live in an incredibly beautiful place, and I’m so happy for you!
Thank you again for taking the time to share so much here—it means a lot.
Oh ... Portugal - a place I would love to visit! It is strange going to another country and seeing so many Australian trees. Eucalypts have been planted in so many places.
I am extremely fortunate. I lived for many years in the deserts of Central Australia. Some of my writing and photos from that time are on my Substack. For the last 10 years my wonderful partner Meg and I have been living on a large island in a coastal river. We are on the river bank, and the sky and water are our constant companions. Occasionally the river comes to visit - because we live in a flood zone - but that's just a reminder to us that nature is in charge :)
Thank you for sharing this, Dave — what a dreamlike life place! The way you describe the river, sky, and water as constant companions feels so special and brings warmth to my heart.
I’m also curious — how do you deal with the flooding when the river comes to visit? Is your house built in a particular way to accommodate it? It sounds like such a unique and thoughtful relationship with the land, and I’d love to hear more if you feel like sharing (And I will also read your posts that speak of your time in the deserts!)
I'm sure Portugal would welcome you warmly if you ever make the journey :)
Oh, thank you so much for sharing this with me, dear Mariska! It truly means more than I can say to know the words touched you so deeply. Thank you for reading them with openness.
I’m honoured we can meet in this way—heart to heart 🤍
So glad to know these prompts resonated with you, Myq! I always try to offer questions that can aid in visiting deeper corners of our inner landscapes :)
Thank you for reading and for stopping by to share your reflection!
Thank you for echoing that line, dear Corie! There’s something tender in realising how universal that reaching is… quiet, instinctive, and often quite unseen. I’m glad it spoke to you 🤍
Wonderful..Inc the voiceover..so unrushed.. one can feel how you relate to the animals and nature.. like sycronicities..I was walking and having similar experiences with a friend and his dog today ...instead of the dear it was horses.. and the fields were the grass banks to meditate and do some yoga..between exploring the stream and it's friendly inhabitants..that beyond ignoring me..seem to accept and welcome me into their spring paradise
Thank you so much, I'm really glad to know you enjoyed the voiceover. Still learning how to do it :)
Your day sounds so beautiful, and I'm happy to hear you felt welcomed by the friends you encountered on your walk. Wishing you many more encounters like this as we slowly move into more sunny weather!
I live on a lake in the middle of a pine forest. All of my horizons have the fringe of distant (or nearby) pine trees except one, on my way home from work, there is a field, cleared long ago for planting and kept mowed now, that falls away from the highest hill towards the city and there, I can see the fringe of tiny buildings. I have to drive 45 minutes to the ocean to find a horizon that is a line.
Does living in an environment with close horizons, surrounded by woods that could house *anything* just over the hillock or behind that clump of trees change the way I see the world? I think it does.
Mary, this sounds absolutely wonderful—like living inside a fairytale! Reading your words, I can almost feel the quiet mystery of those woods and the pull of the hidden places just beyond sight.
I imagine that growing up—or living—in a landscape like that would shape a deep sense of wonder, attention, and reverence for the unseen. I was raised among, and largely by, forests too, and I think because of their teachings, I can relate to your sense of participating in the world :)
Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your world—it sounds so, so beautiful 🤍
I grew up in Michigan USA, a land so flat and industrialized that the expressway overpasses are the highest points, and the horizon is made of buildings. There are good things to growing up there, but I'm grateful to be sitting on my deck under an electric blanket today, looking at the lake. It is beautiful here.
My husband house-hunted for a year to find it for us. It is a lot of work, but it is such a pleasure to sit outside in the half of the year that it is warm enough and watching the lake is always a pleasure.
Really appreciate that you're taking us with you on one of your many walks Justyna :) you move as one with nature and yes, the deer knows you mean no harm... On the contrary, your intentions are love! That's why they share their presence with you. Also, greeting from ~ to colourful flowers without knowing each other's name, really is all they ~ you need ;)
Loving your kalimba music, it adds such playfulness and wonder, like a fairytale that unfolds slowly into the listening ~ imagining experience, a soft bed for your words to land on... Your voice is also very natural, warm and soothing, just at the right pace.
I am having a lazy day after many active ones, until my body pressed pause in ways that gives me no other choice than to surrender... So grateful to have your Stacking Stones to aid in tending to my inner landscape, thank you!
Mik! So good to hear from you :) Thank you so much for such generosity of kindness! Reading your reflections feels like an extension of the walk itself :) I’m also so happy to hear the kalimba and the pace of the reading resonated with you—I published this voiceover with my eyes closed, unsure how it would be received at all haha.
Wishing you a gentle, nourishing pause as you surrender into rest—and I’m honoured that Stacking Stones can be a small companion to you along the way 🤍
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us, step by step. I can relate to your desire to come out of the woods and experience a sense of horizon, and yet, being touched by the water gift from the tree and your walk with ‘other’ as a reclamation of self. Thank you for your words that bring presence and gratitude in the reading of them. I love hearing your voice also. ❤️
A lovely, thoughtful post, Justyna - both the prose and the poem.
Maybe because walking in nature is my own means to meditation and clarity, I responded very strongly to this. Your forest and fields will be very different to the Australian "bush" as we call it - but the effect is the same. There are days when the sky and the leaves and the rain feel like familiar clothes, and I pull them on, luxuriating in the feeling of them all against my skin.
As you say:
"In other words, life speaks
to us most directly through
our bare, rough humanness."
I am jealous of your spectacular typewriter! You will put it to good use...
My horizon today is a soft interface of moist grey cloud and deep eucalypt green, as rain flows over the river by which we live, and across the low hills beyond.
In my life, I am blooming again as a writer - after a 22 year absence from publishing my work.
And what am I learning to let be, just as it is? Mmmm... that would be aspects of my past. Old loves and old griefs. My writing helps with that.
Best Wishes from Australia - Dave :)
Dear David,
Thank you so much for your beautiful, thoughtful words—and welcome back to the world of writing and publishing! :) It’s clear that the way you move with words is rare and captivating, and I’m so glad to hear that you are blooming again in your creative life.
Your description of the moist grey clouds and deep eucalypt greens is so touching, I can almost feel it! I lived in Portugal for six months last year and deeply miss the scent and presence of the eucalyptus trees there; reading your words brought that memory rushing back—thank you:)
It sounds like you live in an incredibly beautiful place, and I’m so happy for you!
Thank you again for taking the time to share so much here—it means a lot.
Sending warm wishes from across the world,
Justyna :)
Thankyou Justyna
Oh ... Portugal - a place I would love to visit! It is strange going to another country and seeing so many Australian trees. Eucalypts have been planted in so many places.
I am extremely fortunate. I lived for many years in the deserts of Central Australia. Some of my writing and photos from that time are on my Substack. For the last 10 years my wonderful partner Meg and I have been living on a large island in a coastal river. We are on the river bank, and the sky and water are our constant companions. Occasionally the river comes to visit - because we live in a flood zone - but that's just a reminder to us that nature is in charge :)
Best Wishes - Dave
Thank you for sharing this, Dave — what a dreamlike life place! The way you describe the river, sky, and water as constant companions feels so special and brings warmth to my heart.
I’m also curious — how do you deal with the flooding when the river comes to visit? Is your house built in a particular way to accommodate it? It sounds like such a unique and thoughtful relationship with the land, and I’d love to hear more if you feel like sharing (And I will also read your posts that speak of your time in the deserts!)
I'm sure Portugal would welcome you warmly if you ever make the journey :)
Oh my goodness!
Thank you, Thank you for your AMAZING writing and reading.
I am moved into tears by this now.
Oh, thank you so much for sharing this with me, dear Mariska! It truly means more than I can say to know the words touched you so deeply. Thank you for reading them with openness.
I’m honoured we can meet in this way—heart to heart 🤍
dear justyna,
thank you for all of this, and especially your gentle prompts:
"What does the horizon look like for you, today?
Where in your life are you beginning to bloom again?
What are you learning to let be, just as it is?"
i love them!
thank you!
love
myq
So glad to know these prompts resonated with you, Myq! I always try to offer questions that can aid in visiting deeper corners of our inner landscapes :)
Thank you for reading and for stopping by to share your reflection!
"The landscape stitched
with coarse tufts of grass, hardened
by winter, reaching toward light,
like we all do. "
Yes, like we all do.
Thank you for echoing that line, dear Corie! There’s something tender in realising how universal that reaching is… quiet, instinctive, and often quite unseen. I’m glad it spoke to you 🤍
Wonderful..Inc the voiceover..so unrushed.. one can feel how you relate to the animals and nature.. like sycronicities..I was walking and having similar experiences with a friend and his dog today ...instead of the dear it was horses.. and the fields were the grass banks to meditate and do some yoga..between exploring the stream and it's friendly inhabitants..that beyond ignoring me..seem to accept and welcome me into their spring paradise
Thank you so much, I'm really glad to know you enjoyed the voiceover. Still learning how to do it :)
Your day sounds so beautiful, and I'm happy to hear you felt welcomed by the friends you encountered on your walk. Wishing you many more encounters like this as we slowly move into more sunny weather!
I live on a lake in the middle of a pine forest. All of my horizons have the fringe of distant (or nearby) pine trees except one, on my way home from work, there is a field, cleared long ago for planting and kept mowed now, that falls away from the highest hill towards the city and there, I can see the fringe of tiny buildings. I have to drive 45 minutes to the ocean to find a horizon that is a line.
Does living in an environment with close horizons, surrounded by woods that could house *anything* just over the hillock or behind that clump of trees change the way I see the world? I think it does.
Mary, this sounds absolutely wonderful—like living inside a fairytale! Reading your words, I can almost feel the quiet mystery of those woods and the pull of the hidden places just beyond sight.
I imagine that growing up—or living—in a landscape like that would shape a deep sense of wonder, attention, and reverence for the unseen. I was raised among, and largely by, forests too, and I think because of their teachings, I can relate to your sense of participating in the world :)
Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your world—it sounds so, so beautiful 🤍
Yes, it is the land of fairy tales!
I grew up in Michigan USA, a land so flat and industrialized that the expressway overpasses are the highest points, and the horizon is made of buildings. There are good things to growing up there, but I'm grateful to be sitting on my deck under an electric blanket today, looking at the lake. It is beautiful here.
It is my dream to live near the water one day :) So happy for you!
My husband house-hunted for a year to find it for us. It is a lot of work, but it is such a pleasure to sit outside in the half of the year that it is warm enough and watching the lake is always a pleasure.
Oh I can only imagine! Hope you will have a lot of sunny days this year to delight in it :)
Really appreciate that you're taking us with you on one of your many walks Justyna :) you move as one with nature and yes, the deer knows you mean no harm... On the contrary, your intentions are love! That's why they share their presence with you. Also, greeting from ~ to colourful flowers without knowing each other's name, really is all they ~ you need ;)
Loving your kalimba music, it adds such playfulness and wonder, like a fairytale that unfolds slowly into the listening ~ imagining experience, a soft bed for your words to land on... Your voice is also very natural, warm and soothing, just at the right pace.
I am having a lazy day after many active ones, until my body pressed pause in ways that gives me no other choice than to surrender... So grateful to have your Stacking Stones to aid in tending to my inner landscape, thank you!
Mik! So good to hear from you :) Thank you so much for such generosity of kindness! Reading your reflections feels like an extension of the walk itself :) I’m also so happy to hear the kalimba and the pace of the reading resonated with you—I published this voiceover with my eyes closed, unsure how it would be received at all haha.
Wishing you a gentle, nourishing pause as you surrender into rest—and I’m honoured that Stacking Stones can be a small companion to you along the way 🤍
Your words are soothing, calming, and grounding. They flow through my physical body and dance with my soul. Thank you.
Thank you so much for welcoming my words into this dance, dear Dawn 🤍
I’m so grateful to know they meet you in this way!
Thank you, your words cause me to listen with my heart.
Thank you for reading them with an open heart, dear Barbara 🤍
I found your voice very soothing and look forward to hearing you again.
Oh, thank you so much, Tom! It means a lot as I'm still a little shy with these voiceovers :)
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us, step by step. I can relate to your desire to come out of the woods and experience a sense of horizon, and yet, being touched by the water gift from the tree and your walk with ‘other’ as a reclamation of self. Thank you for your words that bring presence and gratitude in the reading of them. I love hearing your voice also. ❤️