Balm of River

A Native American Elder was asked,
“What shall we do if we get lost?”
 
He answered,
“Stand still. The trees before you
and the bushes beside you are not lost.
Wherever you are is a place called here,
and you must treat it as a powerful  stranger
both asking to know and be known.
Listen. The forest whispers,
“I have made this place,
you can leave and return once again
saying, here.”
No two trees are the same to Raven,
no two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a branch does is lost on you,
you are truly lost.
Stand still. Listen.
The forest knows where you are.
Let it find you.

     Anonymous