A true story of a journey back to myself and rediscovering the innate magic that surrounds us in nature, by Lisa Pugh.
Let me start by putting the story into context.
It’s 2009, I have been given a final diagnosis of severe fibromyalgia after 6 years of feeling ill and had hit an all time low point in my life when suddenly my marriage broke up. This was the turning point. I changed my name back to my maiden name and within 6 months my dear childhood friend found me on Facebook. (In truth we have been circling each other all our lives, but now was the time of reunion.)
I moved to Cornwall to be nearer to him and we discovered that we both held the same dream of an eco-homestead on a piece of land, living simply and close to nature. Marc had been looking for over 10 years but did not have the capital to buy, so it was a very exciting time for us.
We decided to make a list of the ideal qualities that this piece of land must have. It was a long and very exact one: at least one natural water course, south facing slopes (for a tree nursery), no more than an hours commute from Marc’s children, 12 acres, and so on. We wrote all this down on a piece of paper, carefully folded it up with all our intentions firmly and positively set, then tied it to a Chinese lantern (sorry, not very eco-friendly, I know they are not allowed anymore) then set it free, without any expectation, allowing the flow of the Universe to decide if our dream was viable or not.
We kept searching for a whole year with no success, either the land was too small, too hilly, north facing or in an undesirable location, all of them seemed to go for double the guide price. We were starting to think that our perfect woodland was out of reach when I asked Marc, is there someone you can ask, a landowner, farmer, someone who may know of land not on the market? He replied “There is a chap in the village I know who buys and sells woodlands for a living.” A few expletives later, I persuaded him to call this chap and we were able to see what was in his current portfolio of land that was ready to sell. Alas after looking at several places in Cornwall none of these were suitable. A few weeks later a friend of Marc’s who he used to work with as a tree surgeon contacted us to say he was working on a piece of land for this vendor and it seemed to match our requirements. It wasn’t on the market yet as they were ‘getting it ready’ but we should try to persuade the owner if we could have a look.
It took a great deal of persuasion I can tell you, but Marc is incredibly tenacious and after seeing the topography on the map, he was convinced this was the one. The only trouble was the name – of all the names in the world it was my ex-married name Beer -Beer Wood! What are the chances of that? I was very put off and Marc had to convince me to at least have a look, we could always change the name if we bought it. He was so persuasive that I gave in and agreed to come and look at it.
This all happened almost exactly a year after we had sent the intentions up in the lantern.
I was still in the throes of the FM and had not been able to walk very far, let alone up hills for the past 7 years now, so this was going to be a challenge. I thought I would be sitting in the car and wistfully watching Marc walk around. We got there and as we opened the gate I was getting some strange ominous feelings, as if the wood was trying to tell me something. (I was not yet awake to my extra senses at that time and was only getting snippets of the vast worlds of possibilities, so this was very unusual for me to be so sensitive to these energies.)
It felt like the wood was saying “What do you want? You are not welcome here humans!” I asked Marc if he was also feeling it too (he is very sensitive so agreed that something was not right.) “I know, He said, “We haven’t stated why we are here, let’s state our intentions and see if that makes a difference in being welcome.” So we did.
I am not joking when I tell you this – the energies viscerally lifted like a heavy sheet being taken off. Then they became light, playful and even felt like they were singing and dancing! It was such a dramatic change that I was in awe and wonder, completely forgetting about my aching body and lack of energy, I was able to follow Marc and even walk up a steep incline for the first time since I got ill, it was nothing short of miraculous. When I got to near the top Marc pointed out a place that could be a possibility for where we could site the yurts we planned to live in. He took a picture of me sitting on a fallen tree looking wistfully out over the hill I had just climbed, knowing that this place had incredible healing power as I wasn’t even out of breath from the walk!
We excitedly called the vendor and tentatively asked the price. Our budget was dependent on my divorce settlement (1/2 my house) and my Mum had promised me access to an early inheritance if we found the right place, so we stood a chance if it was within this budget.
A nail biting week later he came back with a rough quote that was 20K over. We took a deep breath and put in an offer so he would not put it on the market. Another month passed and after a full survey was completed the price had shot up to 48K more than we had. Marc was crestfallen, this seemed so out of reach now.
Initially so was I, but a day later my neighbour came round for supper and had a message for me. She is a very clear channel and sees dead people. She had already accurately given me a message from my maternal grandmother that was very much on the money, so I was interested to hear what this was all about.
She said “I really can’t tell who this is, they have a male feeling, but not really human!” Deep, earthy and authoritative, this voice was very persistent that I get the message.
It was short and very direct – “Fortune favours the brave.”
I knew it was the beech tree that I connected with the second time we visited the wood, I felt it strongly in my core. With that message I knew we would be ok, I had faith things would fall into place even though I had no idea how.
Another year passed. The vendor hung on for us to secure a soft loan from Marc’s parents as he believed in what we were doing (to run it as a conservation woodland whilst living on the land using permaculture principles). That was over 10 years ago now.
We have been living and working in the now renamed Deer Wood ever since, gaining our full permission back in 2000. (Another miracle by most people’s standards and experiences with the planning dept!)
I am fully recovered not just from the FM but also I am off all medications for the under-active thyroid that was diagnosed back in 2006 – both these recoveries are classed as medical anomalies – deemed impossible by the doctors! Mainly because they just don’t seem to be able to understand how I healed myself. I am stronger, fitter, more alive than I have ever been, all thanks to Marc’s unwavering belief in alternative methods and my own dogged tenacity and readiness to embrace my wellness. But most of all I thank the wood, for her grace and unconditional love, for letting me know that she believed in me and has been nurturing me ever since.
There is so much magic in this place that this story is just the beginning, there are so many more to tell, but perhaps that’s for another day….
The Deer Wood Trust can be found online here
For more True Storytelling stories, see this page