When was the last time you gave your soul a nature bath? Immersing oneself in nature is cleansing and revitalizing. I learned this lesson from my dad as a young child. We would go to the neighbors’ house across the street and visit with them in front of their garage.
The grownups sat on lawn chairs while I sat alongside them on a wooden crate. Mostly, on these visits, the adults talked and I sat quietly and took in the world around me. I can’t tell you the exact lessons I learned during these sits because the transmission that takes place between spirit and soul during quiet contemplation happens on a level beyond words.
You listen and, before long, you just know things you cannot learn from a book. My dad and I also used to sit on the swing on my grandma’s porch, not talking, just quietly breathing, listening and observing the dynamic life of the countryside. There was a lot to take in, but my favorite part was simply handing myself over to the wind flowing through the trees and the fields, and to allow that wind to flow through my spirit, too.
It never failed to wash away at least some of the stress that comes with daily existence on planet Earth. I miss those Sunday afternoon sessions with my dad, but the imagery and sensations have so deeply ingrained themselves in my being that I can still close my eyes and pick up where I left off. I was fortunate to have my grandma’s home and the land it sits on as a great big playground.
I was doubly fortunate to grow up in a .