What is in your woods?

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Variation to a theme I’ve already written, but it is just that, a realization of the inevitable.

As a species we seem to gather with needs of association with like kind. Our individual needs interaction with others.

We seem to need to share like experiences to explore new ventures. There is a desire to let loose what we hold inside.

So our being seeks one who will feel comfortable with our own evaluation of the life experiences presented to us with a feeling that it is meant to be a comparative emotion.

With the discovery of a like mate to cohabitate with, the compromises come whether wanted or desired but necessary to continue the relationship.

And yet the individual wonders?

For each has desires and dreams that may not be included in this new coupling.

Is the grass greener on the other side? Was it better before we met?

Yet some relationships have complications. Finances are shared, furniture has been purchased with acceptance, and then there are the begat.

The struggle to find a common ground to make life tolerable sometimes leads to the realization that perhaps being in the same space is not the best way to be.

Work offers many opportunities for getting into a separate space at least for a few hours. Travel and long hours softens the long distance and with continuous repetition becomes common to the relationship.

Sometimes the distance is not so far away but yet necessary. The arrangement can be as easy as a dinner together then parting for the evening in different directions or a shopping incursion only to separate in a nap and a football game.

The excuse may be the time needed to have self-relevance or to contemplate the soul or to exercise the creative venture interrupted.

This is not a bad thing; it is just that we, as individuals, must have a certain amount of space to be able to understand our own consistence.

 

I heard this topic from some author, I think it was Maurice Sendak but it makes no never mind. The thought was about the symbolization of “the woods” in folklore.

Since childhood, we’ve been told the woods are filled with mystery and possible danger. Maybe the woods are filled with big bad wolves or gingerbread houses or a possible teddy bear picnic.

But what are these woods and why are we told to avoid the fear inside?

Woods appear to be the unknown. A place of wonder with mysterious sounds and movement, dark shadows and unseen creatures with glowing eyes.

And just like telling a child not to touch the stove, only when the heat if felt will the child understand the concept.

Thus true when the woods are view from afar, they only appear as a group of trees. Textures of barks and variety of greenery living on a carpet of leftovers, but at night the rustle of leaves, the sway of the branches invent all sorts of wonders in the mind. This is the same feeling of the monsters living under the bed when the lights go out.

Yet the draw into the woods is the challenge. The adventure to explore the unknown is irresistible.

So many novels have been written about venturing into the unknown to resolve the curiosity and conquer the fear. Going into the woods is a rite of passage.

To some it may be overcoming the fear of flying or seeking that first kiss or perhaps buying some clothing that you know your parents won’t accept. The woods may be ventured into when first married or the birth of children or creating a new home in a new city. The woods could be as simple as creating a new meal for guest or as complicated of persuading someone to partake in physical indulgence.

So what is in "your" woods?

Me? I live in the woods. I’m the boogie man.