Nature, Unfiltered: After the Rain

Wild Mushroom — Topanga Canyon, 2025
(Found following the early winter rains)

📸 Encounter Story

A few weeks after the rain, the land began answering back.

Grasses returned first, then weeds, then mushrooms pushing up through the soil in small, deliberate bursts. I’ve been finding them everywhere across the property, tucked beside paths, rising from gravel, hiding in shade.

This one caught my attention for its color. Soft pink gills fanning out beneath a sturdy cap. I pulled it gently from the earth and turned it over in my hand, soil still clinging to the stem. A moment of close inspection. A pause. The guidebook came out, not as permission, but as curiosity.

🔎 About the Organism

Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi, appearing briefly when conditions are right. Many species emerge only after rain, living most of their lives unseen beneath the ground.

While some are edible, many are toxic or simply unpleasant to digest. Identification requires care, patience, and often expert knowledge. In places like Topanga, it is safest to admire rather than consume.

Meditation Meaning

The mushroom teaches discernment.

Not everything that appears nourishing is meant to be taken. Some things are here to be studied, not consumed. To be respected, not used.

Wisdom lives in knowing when curiosity stops short of action.

Reflection

There is a quiet satisfaction in looking closely without needing to possess. Holding something briefly. Learning its shape. Then letting it go back to the earth where it belongs.

Practice does not always mean participation. Sometimes it means restraint.

Oracle Message

“Observe fully before you choose.”