18/38 Shadow in the Forest

Video still: El Camino

As I started the day with a steep ascend through a forest, an unresolved issue from the past began to weigh heavily on my mind. Resentment flared. Anger re-fired the argument in my head. Do I dig deeper and support my ego or do I forgive and lighten the burden on my soul? Silly question really, with a body hurting like hell who wants to carry additional baggage.

This was a tough one though, a very tough one indeed. I walked and walked yet had extreme difficulty to find a way forward. Many times I put the issue in the ‘too hard basket’, but I was still the one carrying that basket. So out it came again and again until some hours later... a shift took place, inside me. Had I really managed to let go of the issue?

To put myself to the test I imagined myself meeting 'the others' in the street and see what I would say. Back then it would be something nasty, bitchy, patronising. Now I was able to say something kind, forgiving, humbling. The resentment was gone, the issue had lost its emotional power. It was reduced to a memory that required little space, weighing next to nothing, freeing up capacity to enjoy the fresh forest air.