Moments of Pure Connection 

An entire conversation was held without a word spoken.

I saw someone on my walk in the redwoods yesterday. She is of my family, my tribe. I have never met her. And we did not speak one word.

I was going on a much-needed walk in one of my favorite sanctuaries, the cathedral of redwoods in a park that I love. I go there to sustain and nourish my soul, to connect with the trees and nature all around me. Although I live alone and have much opportunity for solitude, there is something very different and sacred in solitude among these majestic and ancient beings, these tall redwoods. They give me peace and comfort. They speak to me of the passage of time, of things that have come and have gone. Of my life doing the same. Of the importance of paying attention to this moment, right here and right now. Of peace and connectedness. Of belonging to this earth and its plants and creatures. 

The deeper into the forest that I walked, the more peaceful I felt. More connected. And more detached from things that really do not matter in the grand scheme of things.

I stopped for a few moments, as I do frequently, to look up and all around me. To take it all in. To breathe it all in. To listen to the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves. Or as I call it, the sound of God whispering. 

I heard music. Not something that I often hear on these walks, as all seem to know that silence is indicated in this sacred space.

This music was one of my favorites. It was close to the sound of a Native American flute, playing beautifully haunting and sacred notes out to the Universe. I looked around.

There was an elder woman, and she was playing what looked like a clarinet, but was different. Possibly an instrument of a different culture, I thought, that I was unfamiliar with. She faced the trees and played her music to them and to anyone around that it called to.

She was not within speaking distance. But she was within feeling distance, within heart distance. 

Her music called to me. I felt drawn in and simply stood there and listened. My spirit drank this in. A melody that quieted, calmed, and yet stirred things inside me that can sometimes go dormant when I get distracted and lost along my path of life. 

When she stopped playing for a bit, she looked my way and waved. I waved back to her.

And then, to let her know what her music meant to me, I touched my heart and smiled.

She immediately touched her own heart in response.

That was a deep conversation held between two strangers (no longer strangers) without one word needing to be spoken between us. We connected and let each other know that our hearts connected in those moments, that I thanked her for her gift, and that she acknowledged this in response. Heart to heart. 

I was moved to tears. I had been feeling so alone that morning and the day before, and this was such a gift to me. I did not need to speak to her at that moment. I did not need to diminish the intensity and purity of that moment in time, that gift of souls connecting for a moment, seeing and acknowledging each other.

I felt, and feel, such gratitude. Two elders expressing what words often cannot. Sharing the feelings that come up. Seeing how each of us received a gift from each other today. Being deeply together in that moment in time, that moment of eternity. 

As I continue this path of elderhood, I begin to realize more and more the importance of these special, seemingly random moments. These gifts that can go unnoticed if we do not take the time to stop, listen, and be present. To what is around us. To whom is around us. To whom may be on the same section of the path right then that we can share genuine connection with. To all the gifts that each day may bring. 

Life is not easy. And there are beautiful moments of grace along the way. 

I am grateful for those. They help me keep walking, especially when there may be a rough patch on the road. 

I remind myself to stop, pay attention, listen to what music may be around me if I only stop to hear it. Grace and miracles are in these moments. Gifts are in these moments. Life is in these moments.