This is such a helpful post, in part because I haven't seen anyone take this perspective anywhere else. You have uniquely applied your expertise to help people access somatic responses and emotional intelligence.
Thank you for reading, Christina, and for putting the words to the concepts I can never think of the names for (somatic responses and emotional intelligence). :)
This is, again, a beautiful and helpful post, Susan. We have not spent much time outside because it has been too cold, snowy, icy, dark. Still, I am able to look out our windows and enjoy the beauty of nature. I also find the breathing exercise good for calming many worries and going to sleep at night. Thank you. I just acquired "Aflame" by Pico Iyer about stillness and silence. It adds to your moving words.
Julie, I'm glad for you that you've got a good snowpack this year, and sorry that it's keeping you inside more than you like. Bless those big windows and your gorgeous view though! They're a tonic, I know. And thank you for mentioning Pico Iyer's AFLAME. I'll add it to my (very long) reading list. Hugs to you and Gerry!
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I really need to relearn being more receptive to the calming effect of nature than to the constant drumbeat of negative stimulation in our modern society.
I think of the times in Florida when my parents' fights got the better of me. I would walk into the woodland surrounding Lake Kanapaha and climb on the limb of a huge live oak and just listen. Once or twice it started to rain, but the leaves of the huge oak partially protected me. If I looked down I saw numerous apparently paired neon orange spots. They were the spots on the underside of a web-building spider in the genus Leucauge (Orchard Orbweavers). I probably would not have noticed them otherwise.
My visit to the live oak always helped and I almost felt as if it were a protective force that gave me the courage to go back and deal with the problems as best I could.
What a lovely story, Dave! That live oak was a gift from the universe, as it were, as a safe place to find your inner strength and serenity in the face of a very difficult time. I bet there's a place near you know that offers the same kind of stillness and strength for the time we're in now.
Don't we just, Karen! Breathe, get outside, breathe. Unkink those shoulder and neck muscles. Breathe some more. Take in the kindness the world offers. And on we go.... Blessings to you.
The cold has kept me in for the past few days but the small dog and I are ready to be outdoors. Hopefully this weekend.
The news has seemed to be so random and scattershot in its horrible-ness. And even more sinister that its exactly the intent...to keep us in a panic. I have given myself permission to not look at the news but once a day. Then I go about my business. I'm in the midst of putting together a poetry collection so that is keeping my mind occupied. I'm still checking in with friends and making calls to my Congressman and Senators...doing the things that must be done. My solace is this cottage and gardens and Spring will be here soon.
Take care, dear Susan. Your posts are a respite in my week. Kathleen
Kathleen, I am so sorry that the cold has kept you and the pup indoors, and I hope this weekend will return more clement temperatures.
I'm glad you are putting together a new poetry collection--I think that raising our creative voices is critical in these times. Poetry and other creative expressions help nurture our spirits and strengthen our communities. Thank you for checking with friends and making calls to legislators--and for taking care of you! Spring will be here soon, and love will win in the end. It always does. Blessings!
Just reading your thoughtful (and thought provoking) words has been helpful to me. Yes, I am flooded, overwhelmed, drowning in a constant onslaught of life as I never dreamed it could be. I've felt helpless, circling aimlessly, and trying to connect with the whys and wherefores along the way. Your brain helped my brain (and heart). Sending love to you, as always.
Oh, Sharon! So many of us are feeling that flood of negative news and are just overwhelmed with anxiety and anger. It's not even so much that many of the changes make no sense, but how they're being delivered with no thought or care or caring. We have voices, we can speak up. But we have to do so from clear minds and hearts. Your garden can help there. Listen to what it has to teach you. You know this though; I don't have to tell you! Blessings and a hug to you.
Thank you, Susan. I never fail to learn from your posts. Today I learned “depauperate,” so as I walked my dear dog-friend I saw her putting her sense of smell to good use! I also learned that Nature can settle the turmoil of “modern” living, due to the present political upheaval. Mental cacophony. Going out into Nature is a great joy. I quickly spotted 8 Hooded Mergansers in the stormwater pond nestled against the south boundary of our property. Four females and four males. I immediately felt more relaxed and joyful from seeing them. I captured phone video of them and felt a connection as I did so. To share with a small circle of friends that share my kinship with Nature. As I look out the patio doors now I realize that water in our birdbath is inhospitable cold for the regulars. I’ll set to that now. Thanks for stirring the coals and coaxing them to burn brighter, Susan.
Isn't depauperate a great word? I'm glad you can get out with your canine companion, Gary, and hooray for those hooded mercies in four pairs! The males are of course the eye-catching ones, but the females have that crazy cinnamon-colored "big hair" thing going on too, which is totally fun. Let the delight of nature succor your soul in these times, and pick your causes and stick with them. Blessings!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Susan. Yes, the sitting (or laying) still and deep breathing is a technique that I have been doing for many years now, through the practice of I-Rest (integrative restoration). It is definitely keeping me from losing my mind during these daily assaults on everyone's stability. And being in nature, listening to birds communicating with one another, goes a long way to calming me.
Liz, I am so glad you have the integrative restoration group to, as you say, "keep you from losing your mind" in these really overwhelming and stressful times. And the birdsong you can hear even when you don't go outside! What a gift "the actual world" is. :)
A beautiful post Susan. Nature does soothe, calm and revitalize us. And thank you for posting the list of suggestions that we can use to calm our overwhelm. I'm printing those out and will refer to them. Thank you for this.
You are so welcome, Stephanie! I am sending calm energy and good juju your way in this time of craziness. May your path become clearer soon.... Hugs to you.
"I head for someplace where I can hear myself think." I love these places! In fact, I'm going to make a little list of all those places now. Thank you Susan, for this inspiring reflection on finding strength and clarity through nature.
Deborah, that list of the places where you can hear yourself think is a great idea, if nothing else to have it to look at when life becomes so overwhelming you can't remember those refuges. Also the list might well spur a newsletter or essay. Blessings!
And isn't that a wonderful gift to have and depend on, Sue! Also, I am going to think about a different pronoun for nature to see if we can get around objectifying that web of life as an "it." Something to ponder.... :)
Absolutely, Penny! I think the essential truth is that unless we take care of ourselves, there is no "us" to do the outer work of caring for others, creating positive change, and loving this numinous earth. Without caring for ourselves, there simply is no lasting care.
This is such a helpful post, in part because I haven't seen anyone take this perspective anywhere else. You have uniquely applied your expertise to help people access somatic responses and emotional intelligence.
Thank you for reading, Christina, and for putting the words to the concepts I can never think of the names for (somatic responses and emotional intelligence). :)
This is, again, a beautiful and helpful post, Susan. We have not spent much time outside because it has been too cold, snowy, icy, dark. Still, I am able to look out our windows and enjoy the beauty of nature. I also find the breathing exercise good for calming many worries and going to sleep at night. Thank you. I just acquired "Aflame" by Pico Iyer about stillness and silence. It adds to your moving words.
Julie, I'm glad for you that you've got a good snowpack this year, and sorry that it's keeping you inside more than you like. Bless those big windows and your gorgeous view though! They're a tonic, I know. And thank you for mentioning Pico Iyer's AFLAME. I'll add it to my (very long) reading list. Hugs to you and Gerry!
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I really need to relearn being more receptive to the calming effect of nature than to the constant drumbeat of negative stimulation in our modern society.
I think of the times in Florida when my parents' fights got the better of me. I would walk into the woodland surrounding Lake Kanapaha and climb on the limb of a huge live oak and just listen. Once or twice it started to rain, but the leaves of the huge oak partially protected me. If I looked down I saw numerous apparently paired neon orange spots. They were the spots on the underside of a web-building spider in the genus Leucauge (Orchard Orbweavers). I probably would not have noticed them otherwise.
My visit to the live oak always helped and I almost felt as if it were a protective force that gave me the courage to go back and deal with the problems as best I could.
I apologise if I have made this comment before this. I don't always remember!
What a lovely story, Dave! That live oak was a gift from the universe, as it were, as a safe place to find your inner strength and serenity in the face of a very difficult time. I bet there's a place near you know that offers the same kind of stillness and strength for the time we're in now.
We all need those kinds of places that bring us solace and are always there for us!
We really do, don't we, Linda? I hope you have a nearby place that is a haven for you too.
This post is a fine reminder to remain calm and listen. We need more of these thoughts during such a difficult time.
Don't we just, Karen! Breathe, get outside, breathe. Unkink those shoulder and neck muscles. Breathe some more. Take in the kindness the world offers. And on we go.... Blessings to you.
The cold has kept me in for the past few days but the small dog and I are ready to be outdoors. Hopefully this weekend.
The news has seemed to be so random and scattershot in its horrible-ness. And even more sinister that its exactly the intent...to keep us in a panic. I have given myself permission to not look at the news but once a day. Then I go about my business. I'm in the midst of putting together a poetry collection so that is keeping my mind occupied. I'm still checking in with friends and making calls to my Congressman and Senators...doing the things that must be done. My solace is this cottage and gardens and Spring will be here soon.
Take care, dear Susan. Your posts are a respite in my week. Kathleen
Kathleen, I am so sorry that the cold has kept you and the pup indoors, and I hope this weekend will return more clement temperatures.
I'm glad you are putting together a new poetry collection--I think that raising our creative voices is critical in these times. Poetry and other creative expressions help nurture our spirits and strengthen our communities. Thank you for checking with friends and making calls to legislators--and for taking care of you! Spring will be here soon, and love will win in the end. It always does. Blessings!
Beautiful and very helpful. Thanks
Blessings, Lynn. Thanks for reading. Feel free to share this too!
I really REALLY needed this. Thanks, Susan.
I'm glad I could be there with what you needed, Jeanne. Hugs to you!
Just reading your thoughtful (and thought provoking) words has been helpful to me. Yes, I am flooded, overwhelmed, drowning in a constant onslaught of life as I never dreamed it could be. I've felt helpless, circling aimlessly, and trying to connect with the whys and wherefores along the way. Your brain helped my brain (and heart). Sending love to you, as always.
Oh, Sharon! So many of us are feeling that flood of negative news and are just overwhelmed with anxiety and anger. It's not even so much that many of the changes make no sense, but how they're being delivered with no thought or care or caring. We have voices, we can speak up. But we have to do so from clear minds and hearts. Your garden can help there. Listen to what it has to teach you. You know this though; I don't have to tell you! Blessings and a hug to you.
Nature as respite,
breathing now and come what may.
Gaia resistance.
Exactly, Marisol! And beautifully written. I especially like that last line: "Gaia resistance." Thank you!
Thank you, Susan. I never fail to learn from your posts. Today I learned “depauperate,” so as I walked my dear dog-friend I saw her putting her sense of smell to good use! I also learned that Nature can settle the turmoil of “modern” living, due to the present political upheaval. Mental cacophony. Going out into Nature is a great joy. I quickly spotted 8 Hooded Mergansers in the stormwater pond nestled against the south boundary of our property. Four females and four males. I immediately felt more relaxed and joyful from seeing them. I captured phone video of them and felt a connection as I did so. To share with a small circle of friends that share my kinship with Nature. As I look out the patio doors now I realize that water in our birdbath is inhospitable cold for the regulars. I’ll set to that now. Thanks for stirring the coals and coaxing them to burn brighter, Susan.
Isn't depauperate a great word? I'm glad you can get out with your canine companion, Gary, and hooray for those hooded mercies in four pairs! The males are of course the eye-catching ones, but the females have that crazy cinnamon-colored "big hair" thing going on too, which is totally fun. Let the delight of nature succor your soul in these times, and pick your causes and stick with them. Blessings!
I can stand being reminded again and again of “the actual world,” so thank you for that. It is primary. Not enough, perhaps, but primary.
The actual world is indeed primary, Diane, as you remind us so beautifully in your "My Gaia" newsletter. Thank you for that.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Susan. Yes, the sitting (or laying) still and deep breathing is a technique that I have been doing for many years now, through the practice of I-Rest (integrative restoration). It is definitely keeping me from losing my mind during these daily assaults on everyone's stability. And being in nature, listening to birds communicating with one another, goes a long way to calming me.
Liz, I am so glad you have the integrative restoration group to, as you say, "keep you from losing your mind" in these really overwhelming and stressful times. And the birdsong you can hear even when you don't go outside! What a gift "the actual world" is. :)
Yes, I'm grateful to be living here at The Reserve, with all sorts of interesting birds singing and calling out to each other.
A beautiful post Susan. Nature does soothe, calm and revitalize us. And thank you for posting the list of suggestions that we can use to calm our overwhelm. I'm printing those out and will refer to them. Thank you for this.
You are so welcome, Stephanie! I am sending calm energy and good juju your way in this time of craziness. May your path become clearer soon.... Hugs to you.
"I head for someplace where I can hear myself think." I love these places! In fact, I'm going to make a little list of all those places now. Thank you Susan, for this inspiring reflection on finding strength and clarity through nature.
Deborah, that list of the places where you can hear yourself think is a great idea, if nothing else to have it to look at when life becomes so overwhelming you can't remember those refuges. Also the list might well spur a newsletter or essay. Blessings!
I discovered Nature as Healer in my childhood and have turned to it in times of joy, stress, and pain. It is my best friend.
And isn't that a wonderful gift to have and depend on, Sue! Also, I am going to think about a different pronoun for nature to see if we can get around objectifying that web of life as an "it." Something to ponder.... :)
Yes! A bad habit. I became aware of the language of animacy in Braiding Sweetgrass.
I catch myself saying "it" when I mean "they/them" all the time. Those two letters, 'i' and 't' make for a very sneaky pronoun!
These are beautiful reminders that taking care of ourselves keeps us whole. As the airline attendants remind us—put your oxygen mask on first.
Absolutely, Penny! I think the essential truth is that unless we take care of ourselves, there is no "us" to do the outer work of caring for others, creating positive change, and loving this numinous earth. Without caring for ourselves, there simply is no lasting care.