Walking in the Woods - Nature's Balm in the Grieving Process

Walking the path of healing is a very personal and individual journey. And yet so many of us are drawn to the outdoors, when we are working through our emotional healing. I wonder why that is....

Depending on where you live, you could be drawn to the woods - the trees that are so old and strong, the earth that feels so solid beneath our feet. Some may find that the ocean speaks to them - the washing in and washing out of the waves, the rhythm of water going back thousands of years. Perhaps it is gazing at the stars that connects you to something greater than yourself - suns and comets and galaxies, whose light you are seeing left its home a million years ago.

It is a contradiction in comforts that is presented here - there is a sameness, a pattern, a timelessness that we find only in nature, for our civilzation changes at such a fleeting pace, we can barely catch our breath. It is in the natural world that we feel our pulse and mind slow, as we tune into the endless cycles of the land, the sea and the sky. And yet the other truth that resides right beside this, is the reality that everything also passes. It is the natural order of things.

The other thing that comes to light in this exploration is the realization that we are connected and All One with the trees, the ocean and the stars. No matter what you believe about our origins, we are all related and come from the same place. We are Star Stuff, trying to figure itself out.

When faced with such wonders, I have always found that staying locked in sadness and grief is less desireable, when there are so many spectacular things to experience and share. Build those connections even stronger, to the natural world and to each other - because it is all the same thing. And in the time we have on this conscious plane, let us share it with one another, goodness and peace.