When I first started doing my intentional weekends in the forest two years ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect, definitely not what I got. Today I woke up thinking of that time because of a Triad I found in one of my readings.

There are three candles that illuminate every darkness:
Truth, Nature, and Knowledge.

Two years back … The world has just crashed on me, and the darkness seeped into every corner of my soul. I’ve never felt more abandoned or more broken, and I knew I had a choice. Either I do something so out of character that it will transform me and move me forward, or I stop, and I slowly start losing the leaves of life, like the trees do in the Fall. Little did I know that the latter was precisely what I needed to find myself and to find joy beyond my wildest dreams.

So, one Saturday, I chose action: I put on warm clothes and put on hiking shoes. I packed my camera, just in case, and a few snacks. I drove 30 minutes out of Munich to a random place I found on Google Maps. I came there, missed two parking lots, and decided to take the hint from the Universe – this isn’t meant for me. I gave up on the idea of going into the forest and instead drove into a small town just minutes away.

I got there and found parking close to a cemetery with the most beautiful, giant, autumn-colored tree. I thought to myself … This would’ve been a nice place to find my final rest. There is something about the cemeteries that draws me in. Not our typical European ones with cold stones, but those placed in nature, with grass and trees. I still remember my travels to Scotland that left two impressions on my soul in this regard, but more about this, maybe at another time.

I walked towards the old town, and, as usual, I got lost and ended up in a church. I don’t often go to church anymore, but when I do, I find peace in the quiet spaciousness of the hall. I remember it well. It was Michaelmas, the festival of conquering your shadow, and it felt quite appropriate to be sitting in a church. Suddenly, the quiet was gone, replaced by the loud music from the organ behind me. Completely random and utterly beautiful. Lost in the music, I sat there until the quiet fell to the earth again.

I took a long walk around the town, and as I sat in my car, I decided to try my forest again. I’m not one to give up easily.
This time I didn’t miss it! I finally parked and started walking when this amazing feeling of joy, gratitude, and curiosity spilled over me. It was the first time I truly noticed the forest. The light shining through the leaves, the crunchiness of the gravel under my feet, the little mushrooms everywhere.

It was as if I were falling in love. I didn’t know back then, but this one opened a three-month journey, and every weekend day I’d visit that same forest, which offered healing and comfort. It truly was the light to my darkness, through accepting the truth of the situation, the healing power of nature, and curiosity, which helped me acquire new knowledge.
Two years later, I’m called there again. The yearning to be back there in solitude with my camera and a story from Audible is undeniable.

Let’s see what it opens for me this time.

Until next time,
Pia