Finding the magic mushrooms

Magic happened during a recent trip to Lithuania.  It’s a place that I had never contemplated visiting but events transpired that took us there and we are so grateful that they did.

We spent time there with our friends, Tomas and Giedre, who took us to a truly beautiful, wild part of the country, on the Baltic coast.  Whilst there, we wandered the long sandy beach along the coastline, wrapped up warmly against the cold Baltic wind, hoping to glimpse a piece of amber washed up on the shore, something the area is known for.  Whilst wandering through the magnificent sand dunes we spotted two white tailed eagles and we stood and watched in awe as they glided effortlessly, caught in the wind stream that took them for miles along the coastline.  We walked in forests and became entranced by a flock of small birds that we speculated had congregated here ready for their migration to warmer climes.  Our favourite activity of the few days was when Tomas and Giedre introduced us to mushroom picking in the forest, a favourite past time for many Lithuanians.  They showed us the type of mushrooms to look for and the kind of places to look for them, as they can be well hidden, then they left us to it while they went hunting for their own mushrooms.  We were engrossed in the activity and whiled away, who knows how much time, searching for and successfully finding a handful of the desired fruits.

While we were searching for the mushrooms we focused all of our attention at ground level, noticing all the different kinds of moss, noticing the myriad of mushroom types around, noticing the wide variety of colours around, touching and feeling the fallen leaves, the wet grass, the sandy mud, the smooth mushrooms.  Feeling especially happy when we were rewarded for our efforts by finding a well-hidden ‘greeny’. 

The magic happened in these moments.  Pure joy engulfed us. Without even trying we immersed ourselves totally in the here and now.  Noticing only what was happening in that moment.  Lost in the awe of the moment, not thinking about what had happened in the past, not wondering about what was going to happen.  Not judging anything, or criticizing anything, least of all ourselves.  Just noticing only what was happening in the moment and taking pleasure in that moment.  We fell into that space within us that is calm, quiet and still.  The space where pure joy resides.  The space that is at the heart of our true nature.It reminded me that this space is within me.  The feeling was totally within me, the feeling came from me.  It came when I naturally let go of all the usual thinking that goes on in my head.  Like falling asleep, I fell awake.  The normal thinking just disappeared and what was left was pure joy. It reminded me what my true nature feels like.  It reminded me that when I enjoy the here and now, regardless of what it looks like to my thinking, I automatically find that peace and stillness, and joy, within me.  It reminded me that to get the feeling that can come through meditation I don’t have to meditate.  I just need to fall awake to the present moment.   The magic was not in the mushrooms, the magic is in me – it’s within all of us.