Saturday, November 6, 2010

The sleeping giant

I can see how native Americans and many people who live off the land, can feel a presence, a personality.

The woods and forests have a feel about them but to me it is more collective of all that lives there. You are in it and you don't really get a sense of it all. When you are at the ocean or in the mountains or where there are vast fields, there are times when the light and the sounds are right for that presence to reveal itself.

I went for a late afternoon run yesterday. Able to get home a little early, the sun was quickly setting but I'd been on tight schedules and couped up in offices for days and had a strong motivation to get out.

Being close to dark, the light seemed to be fading as I dressed in the layers but there was still some light around the horizons in several directions. Choosing a 3 mile loop that passes many fields and runs parallel to the ridge line that is often my morning route

It has only a few street lights and there were a few cars at that time and it was still that dark just before night. As I reached the ridge line, the light was behind the hills and the shadows were softened the curves of the terrain.

The individual trees were no longer visible and the curves, highlighted by the backlight looked like a giant reclining for the night. The air was quiet and the wind still and the moon not yet up and I could sense his gentle breaths. My imagination could see this giant sitting up and turning to the side to see me, but instead he lay still. I let those thoughts go, not wanting to scare the crap out of me when I still had a few miles to go.

The image didn't stay long, about five minutes or so to cover the half mile stretch, and then I was into the trees. When I returned on the backloop the lighting was no longer the same and it just looked dark. The giant had either fallen asleep or left for something to eat.

I ran the same route this morning and the feel was not there. The trees and fields were bright and the sounds so very different.

The giant was disguised in the trees that went on for miles and miles only to return again when the light and sounds are just right.

5 comments:

janet said...

Hi Jeff,
This is cool. I know what you mean, and I like this post. There's a Sleeping Giant State Park near New Haven. Yours sounds like a wilder giant sleeping in a wilder place. Bet you had a lively imagination as a kid.
Janet

Jeff- in the Berkshires said...

Thanks,
The giant in this verbal picture is quite large (half a mile long I'm guessing). And yes, I was an imaginative kid (still am)

Anonymous said...

I understand exactly what you are saying and I will admit to some fear as I go walking at our mountain home. Surrounded by the mountains I feel really small in the first place. During the light I feel empowered, self assured and don't worry about approaching cars, that are rare, and animals. During dusk and beyond, my feelings turn to insecurities and fear creeps in if I'm around the hill from home and can't see it. It's amazing what a little dawn light will do for you and my secutity returns....debbie good post.

peg said...

You were running at what my Scottish Grandmother used to call 'the purple hour' , that time between light and dark when the souls of those who have passed before us are most tangible in their presence. It is my favorite time of day, be it dawn or dusk!
Excellent imagery, Jeff!
Peg

Jeff- in the Berkshires said...

This time is a special time and I can see it being "the purple hour". I have long thought of it as a "thin time" for much the same reason you do do Peg. The seams in the transitions between worlds stretching from one to the other.