Since the pandemic took hold, the world has been turned on its head which of course leads to more personal stress. To deal, I have been spending much more time outdoors trying to reconnect with mother nature. The term “a breath of fresh air” has never been so relevant or so welcomed. The air I am breathing is oxygen-rich, crisp, and clean. I can feel Mother Earth breathing too as the two of us rejoice in the reprieve from the daily abuse she endures. I can see her blossoming with explosions of color on the ground and an unrecognizable clarity in the sky since our schedules were interrupted. This transformation I am witnessing fills me with joy for my planet, Earth.
Every year I look forward to the intoxicating fragrance of the star jasmine blooming as the warm weather moves in. This year especially she has taken center stage. I can hardly get my shoes on fast enough in the morning before me and my littlest pup head out for a quiet morning walk. The jasmine is crawling on fences and garden walls, bursting with its vibration of smell. She is in full command of the landscape of fragrance and I think to myself I just want to lie down in a bed of this stuff and get lost in her offering or bottle it and save it for a winter day.
Being in nature can take us out of our heads and into her heart when you allow this sort of intention. I wasn’t clear that this was the intention I was craving but almost daily I find myself with a dog on the end of a leash and me walking towards the park and the creek, with the sounds and the feels and the smells that calm my mind and connect me with my soul.
I think when you slow down enough from the busyness of life, your focus shifts and you can begin to see things with a new perspective. For me, being in nature has intensified my focus, my curiosity, and my absolute wonder at the magnificence of our planet. My father used to tell me that Mother Nature never makes a mistake in her color palette and that insects are the most mind-bending architecture you’ll ever see and my god was he right!
This new routine of mine has me gazing up at the expansive sky, feeling the first rays of the morning sun on my face, focusing on the tiniest details of a ladybug, smelling the smells of soft rain on rocks in the creek and tuning into the symphony of sounds, all of it is expanding me in ways I am not willing to let go of as we move towards the “new normal”. This is part of my new normal. This time of reconnection I am having with Mother Nature has helped me realize how disconnected I had become and how grounded and peaceful she makes me feel. I now viscerally recognize that I had gotten too far away from her energy and her ability to uplift my spirit and heal my soul. I am forever grateful for the pause that allowed the waking up bestowed upon me during this sad and surreal time our world is going through. But now more than ever I know that if we can find a way to heal our planet, she will find a way to heal us. She wants this for us, just go out in nature and see for yourself.
Here are five ways that work for me:
1. Grounding or some people call it Earthing, is a fantastic way to seamlessly connect with the earth and heal your body in the most pleasurable ways! The science behind it says by walking barefoot on the earth or lying on the ground you are receiving electrical charges directly from the earth that can have a positive effect on your body and your mind. Just think about that…when’s the last time you walked barefoot in the cool grass or on a warm sandy beach with the waves lapping at your ankles and thought to yourself, hummm, wish I wouldn’t have done that? Never! That's right because earthing is a subtle healing modality that is accessible and available to us effortlessly.
I hope this helps
With Love, M.