I just went on a walk and paused when I got to the bottom of a little hill.

It’s more like my feet stopped moving, refusing to lift or shift, or continue in any way at all.

I stood motionless.

I heard the stream gently flowing to my right as nature’s sounds beat and breathed around me.

Birds chirping, cars driving down the highway in a slight, not-too-far-away distance. Yet, somehow, I found myself encased in a bubble of silence. It’s as if I could hear the cars, but they were not as near as they really were.

I felt my heart beating within my chest, a warm, loving softness smoothing out a bit of restless energy.

Tears filled my eyes in gratitude as I thought about how much I love her, how much I appreciate her. As I felt into how she’s always been here for me.

Unwavering. Sturdy. Ever-present.

Mother Nature soothes me. She comforts me. She grounds me.

She helps me to connect and feel connected—to her, to myself, to the world that extends and expands beyond the little world that lives within me.

At times, she’s helped me to remember to breathe.

To be.

To be still and be present.

To experience this world, this moment, this heart-beating pulsing right now.

To be here. Now. In this present, current, gloriously flowing moment.

I’ve come to her to seek refuge in my lowest lows, and I’ve reveled with her in some of my purest moments of light.

When I felt burnt out beyond repair and emotionally distressed and wrung out, I lay on her and stared into the blueness of her beautiful sky, allowing her earth to cradle me, to hold me.

I’ve sought her embrace when I’ve felt overwhelmed, anxious, worried, and unsure.

Fear-ridden.

Pummeled in energy and emotions I couldn’t make sense of.

I’ve gone on long walks and screamed out at the Universe because life felt so hard—all the while breathing in her rejuvenating, healing air.

I’ve reveled in awe of her, sat stunned, immobilized by her beauty and majesty and grace.

Her power.

Her stability.

Her relentless ability to just continue and be there.

She’s always there.

In rain or snow or sunshine. Chaotic winds. Shifting seasons.

As the minutes and hours and years pass by.

Through my childhood and now well into adulthood.

She feels like home.

She is, at least in part, my home.

No matter where I am—where we are—she’s always there.

And my soul will always find her.

I don’t need to be surrounded by vast fields or forests or oceans to see her.

I don’t need to sit next to the flowing river I now have within walking distance.

I feel her in a potted plant along a cobblestone sidewalk.

In the cool breeze that caresses my cheek on a summer’s day.

In a small park, or tree-lined walking path.

In the clouds that pass in the sky.

In the fresh air I breathe outside.

She’s always there.

I feel her.

Mother Nature, Mother Earth is always there.

For me.

For us.

For all of us.

I love her.

I will always love and appreciate and feel her.

~