Only the tree stood here then

Do you ever feel like you can see into the past? I feel this when I stand under the ancient banyan tree in the center of Auroville. It is a forest in and of itself, this tree. And looking out through its many trunks, I fancy that I can see this flat land as it used to look, a desert of red dust for miles and miles. Only the tree stood here then. The contrast between this vision and the jungle that now surrounds the banyan tree for miles and miles is startling. I can feel all the hours and days and people and work it took to make this place. And it humbles me.

Do you ever feel like the earth is alive even more vividly than you are? I look at the ground here and it is in constant motion. Ants of all sizes and colors, three distinct kinds of centipede, four types of scorpion, crickets, grasshoppers, frogs, geckos, and the wind in the scrubby grass. I look at the air, and it too is alive. More varieties of butterfly than I can count, flies, mosquitoes, brightly coloured birds, and the energy of the red dust dancing in the sunlight. It makes the ground and the air of home seem sterilized and dead. There is wisdom in the earth here. do you ever posted by Julia at 10:51 PM 1 comments Tuesday, January 16, 2007 This is an address where I might be for a while: My name American pavilionAurovilleTamil Nadu, India 605101