Well, this was a treat.

Black Cockatoos called to Tessie Strong and myself (Tracy) when we arrived at the Pelverata Hall to open up, before 7 others joined us for the Mindful Bushwalk into the Falls. Tess welcomed us to her country as a Merlukadee woman, and we drove to the trail head where we listened to the poem ‘Come Close In by David Whyte (below) before starting our transition into mindfulness on the fire trail, noticing our concentration as we watched the path, and then inviting ourselves from time to time to ‘Look Up’ and trust the sensations of the soles of our feet, and the relatively flat path, to keep each footfall safe, as used open awareness to move through the space of the forest and hills.

Along the way, Tess helped us pause and engage with our senses: seeing the birds in the trees, listening to the call of the pigeon, touching the trees and noticing their signs of resilience, smelling the eucalypts. We even tasted the native cherry fruit!

When the track turned onto the traditional footway of her ancestors, Tess called to the ancestors and invited us to pick up a companion for the journey from the place to guide us: a stone, or stick, or leaf, whatever we noticed.

Our mindfulness included inviting awareness that other beings were also aware of us: noticing changes in sounds and behaviours as we moved through the space, and at the waterfall being aware of the ancestors, old men and women in the rocks, looking over us.

We met challenges on the way as we climbed over boulders and along the goat track section, and were reminded to ‘turn towards’ the difficult experiences with curiosity, and the in the knowledge of safety. We had each other, and a first aider, and a guide, all there for our protection.

We ate at the Falls lookout, and Tess gathered water for us from the waterfall. We explored what it was like to keep attention on a chosen visual point for 2.5 minutes, and most of us noticed something unexpected that occurred as we waited, much like the way we wait in our body scans at locations in the body, to notice what arises when we allow time and attention.

Our return trip gave us the chance to share our experiences, and to notice moments of awe: cicadas fresh out of their shell, the updraft at the waterfall, the heart beat call of a bird.

At the end of the traditional footpath, we returned our travelling companion objects to the places we found them, and Tess thanked Country and the spirits on our behalf for a safe passage.

START CLOSE IN

Start close in,

don’t take the second step

or the third,

start with the first

thing

close in,

the step

you don’t want to take.

Start with

the ground

you know,

the pale ground

beneath your feet,

your own

way to begin

the conversation.

Start with your own

question,

give up on other

people’s questions,

don’t let them

smother something

simple.

To hear

another’s voice,

your own voice,

wait until

that voice

becomes an

intimate private ear

that can

really listen

to another.

Start right now

take a small step

you can call your own

don’t follow

someone else’s

heroics, be humble

and focused,

start close in,

don’t mistake

that other

for your own.