Away

A forest feeling

By Thomas Feng

May 22^nd, 2016

The recurring theme throughout 2016 has been change and renewal in my life. For days, weeks & months I have been tirelessly attempting to adjust to a new life, one that is unfamiliar, exhilarating, uncomfortable and incredible. I have been away from everything I’ve known and thrust bare into this world of “independent adulthood”.

But some things never change and it is nice to be reminded of moments which never cease to fill me with happiness. It felt liberating to be on a long, winding road with nothing except tall trees to welcome me back into my familiar cocoon. The window down allowed a flooding forest breeze to burst through the car as the tunes of The Paper Kites flew out to tingle the bristling leaves. I was as light as the wind, ready to drift away.

We were off to the town of Marysville and had to explore Steavensons Falls which plummets 84m and one of the tallest waterfalls in Victoria. Amidst the rush of the water you could see the significant damage done to the forest by the bushfires in 2009 and the slow regrowth of the forest.

Its metamorphosis overnight to ash in 2009 was a stark reminder that sometimes you have no control over the course of events but you can take control of how you react to those events. The regeneration of the forest surrounding the falls won’t be an exact replica; but it will re-grow and the scars and wounds of the past will make it even more beautiful. We can never take our natural environment for granted, to do so would be to strip our connection to the world itself.

I climb up to the top of the waterfall and I sit on the rocks with my feet dipped into the rushing rapids. I feel my soul being washed into purity; I know that despite the tragedies and tribulations of the past, that I have learned from them and become more positive; I am forever vulnerable and am forever empowered with my acceptance of myself and others. I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe in, for people that I care about, for myself and I never will be.

I wrap my arms in freedom and embrace of a tall tree. I exhale through my lungs and feel the tree’s lungs inhale. I feel small, I am in their world and I must respect them. Yet I also feel tall, like my head is floating, my arms and legs are longer, my shoulders are relaxed, my body growing as the forest grows.