The power of trees

Restoration and recuperation

Summer writing sanctuary- day 2

Beth Kempton

I found this particular path near the hospital 3 years ago when having a broken shoulder meant I had to walk to and from the hospital for my many appointments. I noticed this feeling of relaxation every time I entered the path and found it very comforting. This summer I found myself using it again. The picture shows the path in its late autumn colours, you will just have to imagine the bright green of the beech leaves and the dappled sunlight.

Wearily I trudge down the stairs and find my way out of the hospital. Today was another draining visit- seeing the deterioration, listening to the daily litany of complaints, knowing what lay ahead but with no idea of the time scale. I cross the car park towards the band of beech trees which surround what had been the extensive grounds of the psychiatric hospital in the days before its replacement, the current hospital, the hospice, and many new houses had been built on the site.

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As I enter the belt of trees I feel my shoulders relax and my breathing slow. Finding a convenient tree stump I sit down. A month of daily hospital visits has taken its toll. The underlying stress levels which never quite disappear, the fear that every phone call might be “the call,” the constant juggling of everyday activities to fit them around the daily hour at the hospital.

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However, the beeches seem to understand that. Their solidity absorbs some of my stress. As I sit quietly listening to the whisper of the breeze in the leaves, something like equilibrium returns and I feel ready to go on with my day. Before I leave I give quiet thanks to whoever it was who preserved this belt of trees and promise myself that one day I will walk the entire perimeter.

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For now I decide to return to my car by walking the wooded path rather than by the direct way. I listen to the rustle of the leaves and remember the timeless words of Julian of Norwich “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”