Earth Day ~ Held in the Arms of Nature
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“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.
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This is the quote I read in class for every Earth Day. Each year I try to find something new, but never find something as good. I think this year more than ever, this quote is so appropriate and needed. If there’s ever been a time we’ve needed reserves of strength, beauty, infinite healing and assurance it’s now.
During these weeks of quarantine that are stretching into months, when we are indoors a lot, looking at screens all day, feeling anxious and disconnected from loved ones. There has never been a more important time to for us to contemplate our connection to earth, to the natural world, and to cultivate that connection.
So you may know that the Sanskrit word YOGA translates as union, connection or oneness. To come to the state of yoga is to come to the realization, the recognition of our innate connection to and our oneness with the natural world and with all that is; our sense of belonging to the natural world. It’s the realization that we all contain all the beauty & strength of the natural world.
The practice of meditation on nature, or mindfulness of the natural world can, as Rachel Carson said so many years ago, bring us strength, infinite healing and assurance. I highly recommend in the coming weeks that you make it a point every day, several time times a day, to just notice and pay attention to the natural world. Whether it’s just looking out your window, taking a walk in the woods, (6ft. away from everyone of course) or stepping out into your yard at night to look at the stars. The simple practice of stopping, taking some deep breaths, relaxing your body and with a sense of gratitude & reverence, just paying attention to what your five senses are taking in from the natural world can make all the difference in your day - in your life.
Here’s one more quote that’s almost as good.
“Alive in the present moment, held in the arms of nature, and knowing our direct communion with life, we breathe out and our hearts are at peace.”
