Loving the Gray Days: Enclosed in the Shadows of the Forest

There is something about the shadowy gray woods of winter. 

I feel drawn to the dim light of late afternoon,

away from the brightness, noise and lightness of the world.

This is the season when I shy away from all the silly happiness of bright days.

It is when I slip away for a few moments,

Into the calm, quiet, womb of the gray forest where everything has weight,

and everything has soul.  

I feel the weight of the forest, under me and above me.

Roots that spread deep in heavy soil hold me from beneath.

Dense trees, heavy with snow protect me overhead as a shield,

Overhanging branches laden with snow lean over me and the path.

Here I am enclosed.

Snow is falling through the trees;

Snow on snow, heaviness on heaviness,

Even the shadows cover me like a thick heavy blanket,

I am loved.

I am in a place where I feel my own weight,

and I know my soul is  more than what I am on  bright summer days.

This is a place where I know and feel,

The weight of God under the gray,

The weight of God in my soul. 

In this piece of prose, I tried to capture what I feel when I go into the woods and how I strangely feel protected and comforted in the seclusion of the forest. During such adventures, (in this case cross country skiing), I shy away from noise, brightness and lightness. In order for me to feel this "blanket" over me it has to  be during certain times of the year (Usually late November and December), and most often when it is late in the afternoon and snowing. The gray blanket closes down on me and I feel almost "held" in some mysterious manner. I doubt this feeling could ever happen while in front of a TV.  :)