Posted on May 31, 2026 by Jenn Zatopek

HELLO, REDWOODS

We streamed out of the conference center under pristine blue skies bathed in noonday light, our voices a cascade of laughter, each note of joy rising upwards like sweet incense wafting in the air.

A Redwood grove rained on us as we walked near the temple, their heavy boughs absorbing ocean waters and sky, gifting us droplets of light and air which landed softly like pennies dropped in a fountain. 

We each entered the communion of silence like the redwoods, a dimension of space-time slower and livelier than speaking. 

After sitting, I stepped outside, walking slowly for kinhin on a stone porch strewn with metal chairs, bright yellow flowers tucked into rosemary, and the dream of redwoods as blue streaked through morning mist. 

In the days of silence, I hiked for hours midday, weaving through rings of redwoods, clover as large as a child’s palm, and gulches of mossy stones, nothing but forest and the ethereal sounds of the hermit thrush on my mind. 

Walking back, I fulfilled the Navajo promise to walk in beauty everyday: Giant stands of redwoods touching the sky, sage-gray saltbrush lining the stone abutments to my right, and the glimpse of freedom faraway, the blue waters of the bay hidden by mists rolling in. 

After I hugged a dear friend, I glanced at the pond waters reflecting the glorious trees and the blonde hills tinged with green, praying to remember all this on the long summer nights when fire and dust reign down. 

My soul is the mountain forest, the sun-dappled floor covered in redwoods and auburn needles, water-hewn rocks and the sounds of ravens flapping their wings overhead. 

The hugs, laughter, and future plans felt like a bouquet of roses I would inhale later, to nourish and strengthen me as I sat at the airport on hard plastic chairs, waiting into the night to catch my last flight home. 

As we pulled away from the retreat center, I stopped the car and hiked through the mountain once again, footfalls disappearing as the ancient song of the redwoods held my heart in welcome. 

Image: Mount Madonna Retreat Center, near Monterrey Bay, California