9' x 12': Chapter 7 - Escape

But indeed, it is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of the air, that emanation from the old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. Robert Louis Stevenson

The pristine and serene Vallee de La Claree in the French Alps.

There’s an old adage that ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’. My solution when the going gets tough, is to go and get some fresh air before I do anything else. After months of trials and tribulations and emotional roller coasters, my saving grace was taking a long walk every morning.

I have always felt this way, particularly when walking through woodlands. There’s a particular murmuration, the psithurism, the whisper of the wind through the leaves, particularly that of pine trees that is so soothing, each time I hear this breath of air, a circle of memories drifting through the copse and forests of my life from The Heath to the Brianconnais to the Sierra Nevada, and the song it makes as their boughs dance, is a balm to my soul. There is a beautiful passage written by the 12th century Chinese scholar Liu Chi about his love of pine psithurism:

“Among plants and trees, those with large leaves have a muffled sound; those with dry leaves have a sorrowful sound; those with frail leaves have a weak and unmelodic sound. For this reason, nothing is better suited to wind than the pine…Listening to it can relieve anxiety and humiliation, wash away confusion and impurity, expand the spirit and lighten the heart, make one feel peaceful and contemplative, cause one to wander free and easy through the skies and travel along with the force of Creation.”

Walking into the beautiful Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens.

Apart from a small stand of giant redwoods in the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens, there are not many groves of trees in the chaparral covered mountains that surround the city, but during Covid, I discovered an equivalent peace of mind walking, early in the morning, when the city was quiet, with few people about, other than early risers walking their dogs. This was a time to explore new parts of town, discover new streets, hidden pathways, parks, vistas, admire hidden gardens, beautiful trees, and architectural gems. It was a time to let my mind wander, to imagine, to escape.