Raking leaves in the forest

(an embellished true story by Tom Gillette)

While I was hiking through a forest of thickly wooded oak trees, I came across a man who was raking leaves.

I thought, “Why would someone rake leaves in the middle of a forest? Today is October 7. There are literally millions of oak leaves about to fall. What kind of a crazy person is this?”

I stopped and asked, “why do you rake these leaves?”

He replied “To help Time.”

I said I didn't understand.

A long pause ensued.

I continued, “With so many leaves about to fall. Why rake now? And in the middle of the forest? To what purpose?”

“It all makes perfect sense to me,” he replied “you see, all I have is right now.”

Another long pause ensued.

He generously explained, “You misunderstand the situation. In the recent past, a man with dreams tried and failed to create something here. Other men came, and by law, tore down his vision…. They left a mess.

“I walk this path everyday, and each time I pass, I look upon the mess that was created in the past. And my thoughts become filled with those stories. I have walked this path and thought those stories so many times, and now I am done with thinking those things. So here I rake, leaves, chips and twigs, helping Time bring back the beauty of the forest. It is just a matter of Time.

“All of this will pass away in the blink of an eye. These trees, these leaves, this forest, even this planet, but for right now, I choose to put my focus on lovingly raking these leaves with patience, gratitude and forgiveness. Instead of my mind gravitating to the past, each time I walk this way, I now smile inside. I have created a soft place for my judgments to rest. All of this is all going to disappear anyway in the blink of an eye, but right now, ahhh, look how beautiful Nature is.”

As we stood in peace, amongst the glory of the trees, sunlight broke through the heavy canopy. Everything became illuminated.