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NATURAL SOLITUDE
I've enjoyed most being among trees by myself
and sometimes on the fringe of a large group where the many leave the one
wrapped in reverent solitude alone. I do not try to get somewhere or do
anything but be carried into an enchantment by wonder and the living stillness,
with the magic flickering of shadows and light in the peripheral vision.
With the help of insect repellant I tend to come to rest on some mossy
chair and have remained as still as the trees for hours. This enchantment
has come upon me even in that little park west of upper Queen Street (Auckland)
that has such a secret existence. Even in that small still island amongst
the roar and bustle of the city have I found the vivid sense of an encompassing
life uniting all these strands. Yet I have not been there in
years. It is easy to imagine it built out and forget it is there,
perhaps the real heart of Auckland.
Sometimes I notice in a classroom a child
with a capacity for inner stillness and silence where the greater trees
of thought and imagination may grow.
NOEL FULLER
16 May 99
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