"As Above, So Below" © 2012 ~ acrylic painting by Carol E. Fairbanks

                                                           A Walk in Nature

"There is a love of wild nature in everybody, an ancient mother-love ever showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties."

                                                                                         ~ from John Muir's journals

There is absolutely nothing more invigorating than a walk in nature for me.  After strolling by the ocean shore or trekking down a tree-lined path or ambling past a field of colorful wildflowers, I feel so peaceful that I can't remember what I was grumbling about an hour or two before my walk.  The Japanese, who call this shinrin-yoku or "forest bathing", have known for a long time that being in nature does wonderful things for the body and mind. In the natural world, I can encounter what is most essential within myself and others.  I let go of everything but a momentary, wild awareness of my environment and open fully to the primal energies of that ancient world.  I am transported from the challenges of my everyday life and experience a healing congruence with the patterns in nature. Both my biological and spiritual self find a synchronicity with the evolution beautifully demonstrated in the network of nature.

Okay, why do I find being in nature so therapeutic?  Since there are many studies that have been done to support the fact that the natural world adds immensely to our physical and mental well-being, I feel a more important question for me to perhaps consider is how being in nature is healing, rather than why.  Author and teacher, Ted Andrews,  has written extensively about how the natural world, especially animals, reflect back to us information that can guide, instruct and nurture us on our life journey.  He writes in his book, Animal Wise, that we have forgotten how to listen to Nature. He goes on to say, "We have forgotten that Nature speaks to us all of the time.  Nature has become separate from us - something to be studied, examined and, unfortunately, used and abused."   Andrews believes, like many indigenous cultures, that our psyches are primally tied to specific animals,  just as our psyches are tied to the members of our family.  Being in nature reminds us of those connections.

Maybe, being quiet and listening to the natural world on those walks is as important as the physical exercise of walking itself.  Author of the book, Uprisings For the Earth, calls this contemplative experience "listening to the big quiet of Nature". She writes that "when we are in the presence of this natural environment and we listen with our whole selves, we have the possibility to remember the balance inherent within the natural systems of our Earth and our interconnected relationship to the community of our living planet".

So I leave the cell phone, the ipod, and all my connections to the man-made world when I step into the woods.  Like the moose in my painting, I pause and listen. Quietly, I wait for answers and guidance that I am sure are here.  I stand by the water's edge and contemplate my connection to all that I see. My experience here teaches me, and it's message is that I am more than I am feeling and thinking.  It beckons me to embrace the greater Truth that is calling to me through this experience of Nature. Andrews says that the moose is a "symbol of creativity, intuition and illumination".   Moose says that "new attainment is on the horizon - probably through the autumn, the moose's natural time of power". So it is time to stop wandering aimlessly and feeling powerless, because "moose" says my life is about to turn around and prosper.  It could happen...if I listen to my intuition and creatively do my part. This is how "great Nature" supports my journey.  In addition to the adventure and fun, this is the real reason I walk in Nature.... silently......receptively....and very grateful.