Meditations Written by Me: The Liminality of Moss

Get comfortable sitting down. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Breathe in deep, and exhale fully. Shake out your wrists and shoulders, wiggle your toes and feel them relax. Breathe out any stress you have and breathe in the new day.
Breathe deep, In and Out.

Picture yourself standing along a forest stream. Hear the sounds of the water flow around you, over rocks, clear and cool. Smell the crisp air around you, feel the cool breeze that the water guides, flow across your body and hair. Take in this liminal space, between the water and land.
You see a large boulder halfway in the water and halfway on the bank. Large enough to climb, large enough to sit on. Part of this boulder is covered in the most vibrant, green moss that you have ever seen. Climb that boulder and sit upon it. Take in the view above and around you. Feel the firmness of the rock supporting you. River mist hits the rock and makes it a bit damp but not unsafe.
Now look down at the moss. The moss is thriving in that mist. Attached firmly to the rock which is being warmed by the fiery sunshine, the moss reaches out through the flowing breeze and receives that misty water from the river. The moss lives in the liminal space between the rock, the heat and fire of the sun, the delicate mist of water, and it thrives as it takes in oxygen from the air.
The moss lives in its own boundary layer. Simple, ancient and small the moss exists at a cross of all four elements. By being small, the moss can live in that boundary layer, like a greenhouse, taking in heat from the warming rock and taking mist from the water. It is a humid boundary where the moss can grow.
Moss is often overlooked by those who are drawn to the vast flowing river, the surrounding forest, or the large, climbable rock. This moss is often stepped on by shoes but it continues to grow anyway, always resilient.

Slow yourself down to fully embrace the simplicity of this plant. Moss is one of the first land plants to grace this earth. Ancient. Existing long before humans, existing before the time of the dinosaurs. Mosses are like the amphibians of the plant world. They are the halfway point between algae and higher land plants. So powerful that they have evolved to live in moist environments and can also survive in deserts. A brilliant green gift to us from the Earth Mother.

Take a moment to feel the soft moss with your fingers, take in the robust scent of the earthy plant, listen as it’s spirit speaks to you. Shrink yourself down to join the moss in its liminal space, a space where time slows. Walk through it and connect with all your senses, listen, see, smell, taste, and touch. Connect with all of the elements in one place at one time.

(Take 5 min or so to connect)

Moss thrives in spaces where other plants cannot, other plants are more demanding but Mosses, in many ways they are a celebration of smallness. You have joined them, but now is the moment to collect yourself and grow back to your normal size. Find yourself sitting back on that rock between the river and the land. Your liminal journey is coming to an end. Look back over that blanket of green and breathe deep. Breathe in the crisp air, feel the warm sun. Having taken the time to slow down and embrace the small, simple moss you are ready to start your day fresh and new.
Breathe in deep and let peace fill you as you begin to bring yourself back to your physical body. Wiggle your toes and fingers. Feel the firmness of where you sit. And when you are ready, feel your eyes as they open now. You are ready to come back. 

• Written by Amber Araneae, Columbia Grove ADF, 2019