the bench, the stars, and belonging

This was Tuesday night in Harbin Valley. The waning moon meant more stars than I remember seeing in a while. Taking the Village Path from the hot springs to my cottage, I discovered a bench with a message engraved at the center top, “Your spirit guides & guardian angel.” If ever there were a moment to pause and sit on a bench, this was it.

I sat for a long time taking in the beauty of the moment. My ears filled with melodic sounds of crickets, the creek, the soft flutter of winged ones flying past, critters rustling & sounds of cars & humans. I gazed into the unending night sky. Sitting on that bench brought an unexpected shift in perspective.

I’ve looked upon the earth in awe of her beauty & felt how it is all available to me.

This evening I understood that all of this is me, I am not separate from this beauty.

As I witness & regard it, I witness & regard myself.

It’s not easy to retain this level of connection & integration for long, but this moment felt integrally relaxing. Alone at night on a bench on the side of a mountain, I felt deeply received. I made my way back to my cottage next to the creek where I listened to the water, inhaling and exhaling with the stars. I felt content to do that forever, but eventually I got cold enough to go to bed.

Before bed, I read the entire Harbin Hot Springs Welcome binder. Each page surprised me with how interesting & sincere it was. The words fleshed out a feeling I’ve had many times on this land.

I can feel the love that the Harbin caretakers have for this land, the water, each other & themselves. I feel it coming from everywhere, cycling through everything.

Their land acknowledgement does not feel performative because they care for & consider the land, water, air, all the elements in with every step. At least in their mission, they own both their dependence on & responsibility for the land, water, air, trees, etc. The reciprocity of love is palpable. It feels so safe & relaxing to be on land & in water that is cared for in this way.

Since the 2015 fire & Covid, the boundaries they’ve created & enforced with visitors has made a huge difference in the safety I feel there.

The feeling when we make stronger attempts to value nature & humanity over profit.