{"id":62763,"date":"2020-12-24T07:55:50","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T07:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eco123.info\/en\/?p=62763"},"modified":"2020-12-23T17:06:23","modified_gmt":"2020-12-23T17:06:23","slug":"no-68-mushrooms-in-the-woods-an-attempt-to-find-something-natural-that-we-believed-already-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eco123.info\/en\/short-stories-en\/no-68-mushrooms-in-the-woods-an-attempt-to-find-something-natural-that-we-believed-already-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"N\u00ba 67 – Mushrooms in the Woods
An attempt to find something natural that we believed already lost<\/h6>"},"content":{"rendered":"

The other day I was asleep, and dreamed of waking up; however, all around me was darkness. Did I find myself in the world of a blind man or simply in a space in the universe without any light whatsoever, not even stars on the horizon? In that dream, I had lost something valuable in the forest and was looking for this… something, I didn\u2019t even know what it was. I could sense life around me, everywhere, but I couldn\u2019t see it. I became unsure of myself. What happens when you are in a public space where you can\u2019t see a thing, where it\u2019s dark and yet there is life all around you? How do I find my way around amongst all these trees? So, there I was at night in a dark forest without a watch, without a smartphone, standing still. A thought suddenly flashed across my mind: how do I overcome my fear? How do I regain my confidence? I wake up. The day has begun.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our hike starts early in the morning and leads uphill. Mobile phones are switched off. We are entering the forest, leaving the sun behind us. Only a few sporadic rays manage to penetrate the thick vegetation. The path leads us through the woods, over clumps of moss and fallen trees. In reality, it isn\u2019t really a path; we left that way behind us already. At some point, we\u2019ll make a turn, and the forest will quickly swallow us up. We go slowly, almost crawling, listening with our ears, smelling with our noses. It\u2019s musty and damp in this part of the forest where Carlos encourages our small group to activate our senses and sharpen them, to feel our way with our eyes closed. To sit down, to kneel down, to slow down, to enjoy the silence. We\u2019re not talking much and, when we do, it\u2019s always in hushed tones. This is all about scents: the presence of mushrooms can be smelt and felt. Cork-oaks, pines and the arbutus strawberry tree are not uncommon in this spot, being joined here and there by heather, wild flowers and shrubs. This whole forest grows wild. It has never been cut down and has always been left alone. It\u2019s a last slice of moist nature, spared by the fires of the past years. Animals live in it. It swallows up the noises of civilisation, motor cars in particular, and opens up opportunities for unimpeded birdsong.<\/p>\n