There is a forest. It is vast and dense. Looking at it from the outside, it looks impenetrable. And it all looks the same. One big overwhelming forest. But it has trails. Marked and unmarked. Mapped and unmapped. And there are unique identifiers within the forest that can show me how to find my bearings and work out where I am. And from there I will know where I can go, and where I want to go. I only need to learn. It takes patience, it takes courage, it takes attention, and it takes time. But the big impenetrable overwhelm can be broken down into digestible mouthfuls. And meaning can be made here, as anywhere.

As a dear friend advised me many years ago, you eat an elephant like you eat anything else, one bite at a time. And that is also how I must eat my forest. One mouthful at a time. Leaving the elephants within the forest in peace. Them I am not here to eat. Not literally anyway. Maybe metaphorically, and only from afar. Elephants are amazing. There are many amazing things in the forest. Slowly and gradually I am learning how to see.