Softness in Motion

I walk among the pines and cedars, letting their scent—sharp, resinous, alive—fill my lungs. The forest moves slowly here; even the wind bends with patience. I notice how light falls through the branches in scattered pools, how the moss clings to stone with quiet persistence.

I carry a few verbs with me, like soft companions, guiding the way I move and breathe:

• Unfurl → I let curiosity open like a fern in the shade, each spiral revealing something I did not know I held.

• Tilt → I lean toward the light, toward what calls me, like a flower tilting in the sun’s warmth.

• Lean → I stretch gently into the unknown, like a tree reaching through shadowed space, trusting the support of roots I cannot see.

• Wander → I allow myself to drift without a straight path, like a stream flowing over stone, around roots, carrying whatever has been held too tightly.

• Trace → I follow the lines in bark and stone, fingertips lingering on every curve, every groove, learning patience from texture and time.

• Peek → I lift moss, peer beneath fallen leaves, noticing the worlds hidden underfoot, small and perfect and alive.

• Follow → I step softly where the signs lead—the imprint of a deer, a bird’s feather caught in the brush—trusting the quiet guidance that appears when I am still enough to see it.

These verbs are not instructions; they are invitations. They teach me how to inhabit my body and mind with the same gentleness the forest gives itself.

I notice the water trickling over stones, carrying sunlight in its reflection, and I remember that I, too, can flow. I notice the wind threading through the branches, and I remember that I, too, can bend without breaking. I notice the soil beneath my feet, rich and dark and holding memory, and I remember that I, too, am rooted, yet alive.

Here, among scent and shade, moss and stone, I remember how to be soft. How to move with curiosity as my guide. How to lean, wander, trace, peek, and follow—not to arrive anywhere, not to finish, but simply to exist fully, in rhythm with the quiet intelligence of the forest.