Searching for mushrooms
This post first appeared in As Diana O Sees It on August 17, 2024.
It was an August afternoon in the Swiss Alps when I set out on my hike to hunt for mushrooms. The air was warm and damp. Instead of walking the trail, I chose to bush wag up the tree line along the stream behind my house.
As I ascended, the incline steepened and the ground beneath my hiking boots softened. The stream gurgled. The bees hummed. My muscles engaged and I could feel the pulse increasing in my chest. I focused on breath and established a steady rhythm.
As I neared the special mushroom spot—a damp meadow with a group of conifers—my hiking boots pressed into the mossy grass a little faster than before. I had learned of this spot thanks to an ex-boyfriend. He was an experienced forager and in addition to teaching me how to identify two types of edible mushrooms—Chanterelles and Boletus aka porcini—he had made me promise to never to divulge his mushroom spots to anyone.
No matter how I hard I looked this time, no fungi could be found.
I gave up and kept climbing the mountain.
After 30 minutes, the trees and shrubs that had initially surrounded me started to thin out. The world around me began to widen, and I could see sweeping views of the valleys below.
The smell of earth and pine warmed by the sun mixed. A common buzzard emitting a series of high-pitched whistles soared above my head. Problems and worries started to dissipate. I found myself in a rhythm, like a dance between my breath, my legs, and the earth.
About an hour after I had left my home, I summited and found the surrounding beauty and views dizzying. Clouds cast shadows on the landscape. My skin cooled thanks to a breeze. I was happy to be alive. My mind was clear and worries were gone.
While descending, I retraced my steps.
As I reached that special mushroom spot—where the damp meadow and the group of conifers were—I suddenly spotted bright golden shapes in the moss. As I got nearer, I saw the telltale wavy edges and gills. Chanterelles! How had I missed them during my ascent? Had they grown while I had summited? Why was I now able to see them and not before?
Perhaps, the character Katherine in the movie Under the Tuscan Sun was on to something when she said: “When I was a little girl, I used to run around in the fields all day, trying unsuccessfully to catch ladybugs. Finally, I would get tired and lay down for a nap. When I awoke, I’d find ladybugs walking all over me.”
When we least expect it and slow down, things come to us.
It’s a bit like searching for a partner. We go on dating apps and come up disappointed. When we least expected it, we meet someone who fits. That search for happiness can be elusive but when we stop trying so hard and just be, our eyes see things we normally wouldn’t see.
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