Nature’s Healing: Finding Light Through Darkness

Oh Mother Nature,

I come to you today

seeking your healing

for my bleak soul

adorned in mourning blackness.

I want to sit amongst

this community of sky touching spruce trees

while the goldeness of our sun

plays hide-n-seek with

outstretched branches and tall, thin trunks.

I ask you to help restore my soul, my inner being

to seeing light and hope again in the world.

Your bright, glowing sun graces my face,

warms my cheeks,

makes me close my eyes to just soak

in the love pulsating in your beams.

It alights a thought in my mind-

the sun is always shining,

no matter the gloomy clouds or darkness of night.

All 24 hours of a day it keeps glowing,

sending life-giving energy to ignite our hope.

Yes, I should be more like that sun- even in the dark, uncertain times

look for the light in others,

bonding our brightness to illuminate the world.

Your tall, aged spruce trees

support my back as I sink into their solidness.

The greenish tinged rough ovals of the brown bark

accept my sorrow,

exchanging it for their freshest of air,

clearing the wild emotions pinballing in my brain.

I acknowledge the wisdom of these trees that have stood

on this land for many, many decades

through the highs and lows humanity has incited around them,

their roots keeping them supported, strong and victorious.

Yes, I should be more like these spruce trees- using my roots,

my values, my ethical foundation

to stay strong

continuing to show these morals to the world.

Your crisp Fall air

leaves a coolness in my body

as it is pulled from outdoors

into the bottom of my lungs,

making me fully aware of each inhale

but also,

each exhale

filled with warmth and sentience,

Breathing- cold to warmth-

Yes, I should be more like this life-sustaining process-

taking in the biting bitterness escalating around me,

being mindful of its impact on my full being,

and releasing into the world its opposite-

compassion, understanding, and benevolence.

Oh, Mother Nature,

I offer you heartfelt gratitude

for bringing me

calmness,

clearness,

comfort.

Sitting quietly, soaking you in

allowed your wisdom of the ages

to be heard in my consciousness-

advice that rings true in my heart

allowing me to see how to move forward

with my space in

this

time.

So grateful for my time nature journaling at Webster Park this past weekend. I spent about 30 minutes just soaking in the sun and fresh air while sitting with a community of spruce trees. While there, I did a Spirit Walk which I recently read about in Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature by Tina Welling. There are 3 parts to this process: naming, describing and interacting. The interacting stage brought rise to many emotions and connections. The page I journaled while sitting there was the creative inspiration for the free verse poem above. Sitting in nature, journaling and being creative has allowed me to feel more like myself again. Such a powerful process!