Fairy Homes

Once upon a time when I was a little girl, I found a place that accepted me, that loved me, that allowed each part of me to be who I was, in all and every aspect of me. It was the "woods" in my backyard, a line of pine trees by the neighbor's fence, and opposite one great big tree whose roots stuck out of the ground far enough for my little body to feel like I could curl up in its arms. The trees, the ground, the grass, the air, they were my friends. 

"Oh, how sad," I can hear the critics say. But, no. It really wasn't. I loved my little adventures out in those wooded areas. Hidden away from the world, I felt cradled in the arms of nature. I felt like those trees and I had secrets that we shared, an invisible dance we danced that no other human seemed to understand.

I would make little tiny houses in those woods. For tiny people perhaps? Fairies most likely, though I did know of fairies at the time. I just remember taking small sticks and stones and creating worlds upon worlds of homes. I never needed dolls or characters to fill these houses. When I was done, I left them, knowing they would be used wisely.

I still feel at home in the woods, worlds away from the hustle and bustle of humankind. There is a calmness to the rhythm of nature.There is a peaceful security to it all. Nature has no need for drama. Life has its ups and downs, it's grey rainy days, it's sunny busy times. The snow comes and all is still. This is just how it is. There is not questioning why. There is no forcing of time. The leaves do not attempt to grow in snow! They stay put until spring. The squirrels know when to bury their acorns. The birds know when to fly south. They do not worry or fret or talk about it non-stop. They just do it. They follow their instincts. They are who they are. They don't sit around trying to be something they are not. They do not expect me to be something I am not. They totally and completely just accept life as it comes. A full expression of life on life's terms.

I long to be that way.

I am not.

I am human, and must live inside a house to stay warm. I live in a modern society that separates me from my nature. I often forget to stop, breathe and let go. I often get caught up in the worrying of future and analyzing the past. I often feel separate, odd and apart. That is when I am reminded that I need to go to my woods, to visit my trees and talk those that live there. I must take great effort and time out of my day to go see and spend time with my nature, with my lake, with the place I feel most at home. For they remind me of their wisdom. They remind me of their love. They remind me of a time when I spent hours and hours outside making little houses, playing in the trees, feeling loved.

Even with all that I know about elementals and tree spirits and my oh, so favorite fairy sprites who dance sparkles around me all day long, at the heart, at the root of it all is that simple feeling of home.

I hope that today you can find that which makes you feel at home, that which accepts you for all that you are, and that we all can find a moment to go out in nature and simply soak in the wisdom that she provides so easily, if we only stop to notice.

With much love ~ Jeannine Proulx

www.dharmaplace.com