Nature as a Force for Healing

We have a soft spot for the Adirondacks given how many years of summer fun we’ve had in the region. From soft serve ice cream cones, clam bakes, skiing on lakes of glass at sunrise and roasted hot dogs on a campfire to leisurely Sundays on swinging hammocks, sailing and blueberry picking, we did them all. Now that we’re older, picture perfect memories remain, but above and beyond all else, its her mountains, her lakes and her colored leaves in October that win our hearts over.

You see, as the wisdom sets in, it’s obvious how healing nature really is whether you’re physically or emotionally ill or not. Simply put, nature brings you home to the heart, home to the soul and from this place, your Higher Self can hear, see, feel, and most importantly, breathe. Of course our childhoods were spent hiking in her woods, climbing her peaks and swimming in her waters, but the appreciation and gratitude for the raw natural beauty that the Adirondacks delivered wasn’t what it is today with wiser eyes & hearts.

There’s an inner sanctuary among her mountain tops and baked inside a lazy canoe ride on one of her hundreds of lakes. Does that serenity and peace come from the Mohawk Indians of yesteryear? The Hudson River with her long history and roots? Or, does it come from the pine trees? Perhaps it’s the loons who wake you up in the morning and sooth your weary soul as the sun sets after a long day’s work.

We rarely get back to the Adirondacks for a myriad of reasons. The place brings with it some sadness as it does joy for many of the same reasons that Richard Russo writes about in Elsewhere, also his old stomping ground. It was once a thriving area like so many New England and Mid-Western small towns and villages once were. Inevitably the industries which once made them thrive were taken over by corporations and the small cafes and mom-and-pop shops were replaced by WalMart and McDonalds, thrown together like bricks in a box now most commonly known as America’s ugly Strip Malls.

Deep down, we recognize that Russo’s truth resonates with many we know in the area, even if they never dare say so. It’s too painful to “dare say so.” As we get older, we take the approach we take with everything in our lives: speak up about what matters in the most authentic way possible. It goes a bit like this: if there’s something positive you can take from a person, place, experience or thing, embrace what works and integrate it into your life. If it doesn’t, learn what the blockage was or why and simply let it go. Letting go is so hard isn’t it? Hard, but oh so necessary if we want to move forward in our lives and…heal.  

Forward is the path to healing. When we don’t continue to push ourselves forward to learn and grow, we stagnant and we die inside, little by little. For those who were blessed enough to grow up in a rural America surrounded by woods, lakes, rivers and ponds, you know just how healing nature can be, especially when you’re hit by something devastating in your life, like a lost job, the death of a child or a divorce. Like Thoreau who was healed by Walden Pond’s waters, the nature we know best heals our deepest wounds if we only allow it to do so.

We love nature for all of her lush awe-inspiring magic. For, within Mother Earth’s natural beauty, there’s no pain, resentment, pity, misunderstanding, frustration, jealousy or all the things we get hit with from external forces, like so many of us do. She dishes us nothing but pure joy and frankly, don’t we all need a friend like that?

We may all have someone — a family member, a friend or a boss — who make us feel as if “we’re not good enough or simply enough”. It’s that other parallel universe and all the negative voices in it that we need less of in our lives, not more. Make positive choices that serve you in your life as you march on, not hurt you or hold you back from a purer and happier destiny….

Nature doesn’t have an ax to grind or something to settle. The lakes don’t tell us we should have done something else, become someone else, lived somewhere else or married someone else. It simply is. And while we’ve been witness to some of the most stunning natural settings across four continents in the last couple of years, there’s nothing like your childhood soil. And, this is ours…..

 

Gaia’s embrace and late night campfire stories kept the child alive in us. Native American spirits reminded us of their presence during walks in the woods, in our dreams and through their whispering voices in the wind. Don’t forget your innocent beauty they’d sometimes say. Stay grounded they’d say and they still do.

Next time you have an opportunity to sit by a lake, a lagoon, a pond or a river, listen to the water’s pulse at dawn and dusk.  What lies between you and land is nothing but a fish who jumps up to the surface for a mere few seconds to say  hello, and a loon with her beckoning calls, so hypnotic you fall asleep and forget about the world for awhile.

Below, the Adirondacks in October.

 

 

Don’t ever forget that we are all Gaia‘s spirits and her children. Don’t ever forget that her energy runs deep within us all. Like those deeply-rooted Native American and Spirit Animal calls in the night, nature will teach you about magic and it will heal you like no other. Let nature guide you back to your Soul’s Purpose and then let the real journey will begin!!

 You May Also Enjoy These Articles:

• The Adirondack Loop
• The Allure of an Adirondack Summer
• Mirror Lake Inn in the Heart of the Adirondacks (upstate New York)
• 8 Family Fun Filled Family Travel Options in upstate New York
• Lake George, The Queen of American Lakes