All summer long, I stood under the ancient Maple in my yard and looked up into the branches. I loved being under all the leaves waving above me and hanging down from the drooping branches. An umbrella of dark green was all I saw and I felt so embraced by the canopy above me. It was a cool and comforting place. I was enveloped by the protective dome.
Now the leaves are gone, and when I stand under the branches, I see the world beyond. There are bright silver stars at night and I see the deep blue of the day sky. My tree is still there, but now I know that there is more to see while standing under it.
For nearly all my life, I have enjoyed the comfort and thrill of the illusioned world around me. My eyes never saw beyond the color and shape, my touch never penetrated beyond the hard and warm surfaces. I never knew that beyond the curtain of appearances was a whole additional reality. My senses were caught up in an illusion and only gave me a vague impression of what is really there.
The wonderful world of unseen dimensions, hidden activity, and invisible realities is beginning to be revealed. Some of the reveal is taught by those who explain the unfolding realities of modern physics. Some is realized by my shedding the dominating thoughts of my mind. Some comes from opening my senses in a new way to the deeper world around me.
I have loved my summer tree. And now I know there is more.