Spiritual Journey – Part 1

This is the spiritual journey that my class was subjected to, and my rendition of the events I created in my head. The story goes along the lines of:

You are in a forest, and you come across a bear. You find a key, and soon after discover water; a cup is found nearby. You notice the sky above your forest, and upon exiting you find some flat land. There is a building there, and you choose to either enter it or leave. Finally, you look out a window in the building and see what’s out upon the horizon.

In a later post, I will analyze these object, as they each have deeper meaning. For now, I will simply tell you what the symbolize, and leave their meaning up to interpretation.

***Note: we were not told of the symbolism before we wrote, but after. This led to some interesting conclusions in my story.


Forest – Life at Present

My forest was pure Autumn; leaves decorated white birches with colours of yellow and orange. They had yet to fall and wither, becoming crusty and loud when stepped upon like the normal Fall. Instead, they still laid upon the ground, but in numerous amounts, still soft and malleable under my step. It smells of Fall and an ominous nothingness can be heard between the tress. The only thing that dares to make a sound is the occasional rustle of tress and leaves as a light, warm breeze rolls through, calming me.

whitebirchtreeforest-autumn1

Bear – Perception of Adversity

The bear I encounter is a grizzly, huge and brown, yet calm in its demeanor. I walk up towards it, and it seems to accept my presence with it. I step beside it, watching as it stands there, looking back at me, almost smiling. A friendly, kindred spirit is this bear. The fur coat is dark brown, yet around its mouth is a shade lighter, along with its underbelly, and the tips of its paws. It may be a female.

Key – Self Image

The key I find is laying in a a patch of short green grass. It is bright, shiny gold, reflecting the light slightly from the canopy above. It is mad of brass and has a square head. It has too prongs close to the end of the shaft. I pick the key up, and add it to the pocket on my shirt. It has a tiny hole at the top of the head.

Water- Life Source/Interpretation

I stumble upon a small creek, the stream of the water no larger than two feet wide, 1-2 inches deep, as it flows, clear and pristine through a grey rock basin, that is also surprisingly clean. It is silent, yet flows swiftly. The rocks seem to part the forest floor as they are easily defined from the orange speckled ground. I bend down, and cup my hands to pick up some cold water. I drink from the stream, and dry my hands on my pant legs.

Cup – Attitude Towards Love

I find the cup a small ways away from where I was standing at the stream. It is a mug, white and pristine, flawless in its porcelain nature. I pick it up with my left hand, by the top, and admire it, looking at how beautiful it looks and how it doesn’t fit in with the world around it.  I want to keep this cup, as it is pristine and deeply interests me.

Sky – Ambition

The forest remains the same illuminated by the bright colours and what looked like the afternoon sky; as I reached the clearing, it changed. The forest remained light, yet the sky outside was night, full of constellations and the purple hue of the cosmos. I could see every star as it speckled the dark violet above me. Yet behind me, daylight surely is present in the forest of orange and yellow leaves of the white birches.

stargazing-northwest-illinois

Flat Land – Old Age

The flat land I find is green, covered in short grass; it goes on forever. There are no senses present, just the warm breeze that the forest had, blowing around me. I almost miss the forest, as the dirt is a bit harder and the area is not illuminated. There is the occasional evergreen tree, speckling the land ahead.

Building – Death

The building I come across is a stone tower, accompanied by a smaller grey stone building attached to its side. The tower has a red tiled roof that is a cone, raised above the top of the stone, like a watch tower.

I enter the building. – Perception of the other side

The inside of the smaller building is made of stone as well, the floor has a singular red rug. To my left, against the wall, is a wooden table with two wooden chairs and two white porcelain plates on wither side. There is one bed on the right, upper corner of the room. Then there is an entrance to the tower, as stone, spiral steps lead me to the top; the floor here is now wood.

Window – Afterlife

There is no window, but I look out from the observation deck of the tower. I see grass going on forever, with the occasional pine tree dotted around in the distance. There are some red and yellow flowers I can see around in various locations. The night sky is on the horizon, full of stars.


 

Bibliography of Images

-Ritt, Zuza. “White Birch Tree Forest.” Photo. 21strom Nov. 4, 2014. Oct. 29, 2016. <http://www.21strom.com/second-life/2014/21strom/white-birch-tree-forest-autumnfall-mesh-landscapes-with-animated-trees/>

-Unknown. “Dark Skies.” Photo. weekendsightseer April 13, 2015. Oct. 29, 2016. <http://weekendsightseer.com/the-last-dark-skies-of-northwest-illinois/>

 

2 thoughts on “Spiritual Journey – Part 1”

  1. Lucas,
    I really enjoyed reading through the symbolism and imagery that you used to construct this piece of writing, excellent job! One area for improvement would be to reformat the actual piece itself, you should look at making transitions rather than individualized titles this can create more flow throughout your writing.

    Khizer

  2. Lucas,

    I enjoyed reading through this piece as the imagery you created held my mind completely and really immersed me into it. My only grow would be, as Khizer said, to use transition sentences to create more of a flow and make the reading even more enjoyable than it already is.
    I look forward to reading more of your writing.

    Keep writing,
    Sydney

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