Mushrooms on the Greenbelt

Just before moving from Long Island, I was invited on a little day hike along part of the Greenbelt Trail. This system of nearly 200 miles of trails through many of the parks and recreation areas throughout the island is a well kept secret of many hiking enthusiasts. Although I had hiked on some of the trails before, I had no idea that an entrance to a trail leading to one of the parks was practically a stone’s throw from my apartment. If we are open to it, even a familiar place has a few surprise adventures awaiting.

On this particularly hot, humid day, the trail offered a people-free respite from the heat with beautiful lakes, woods, and streams. Nature cooperated, too, with a National Geographic moment: a swan family was having a little afternoon time by the lake. On a smaller scale, the high humidity created the perfect conditions for a few mushrooms. One of them appeared smack dab on the sandy trail on the return trip home. Because this was the exact same trail we had taken on the way in, I wondered whether I had missed it or the little fungus had just sprouted within a matter of hours....

Mushrooms, like most living things, are born with reproduction in mind, and the mushroom parts we see are actually the fungi’s fruiting bodies that release spores. They are not plants; mushrooms contain no chlorophyll, so they break down nonliving organic matter for nutrition.  Before we even see the little hats or umbrella tops, the fungus has been preparing itself behind the scenes. In contrast to plants and animals, which develop through cell division, mushrooms increase in size by expanding the cells it already has. When the right conditions are present--i.e., humidity, or moisture--the mushroom has all it needs to sprout; this is why it appears to grow instantaneously.

Our physical bodies are pretty autonomous, repairing, building, and maintaining its cells on autopilot. Our mental, spiritual, and emotional selves, though, can take a lesson from the mushroom kingdom. We have all we need to grow and expand; the outside conditions are already present.  The only internal ingredients we need to add are our desire, intention, and faith, as we define them.