Nature as a balm for the soul 

Raking the multi-coloured leaves, the earthen scents, the cool caress of the wind, all the world illuminated by the sun’s light - my focus upon the task at hand.  Being in nature, even one’s own backyard, soothes one’s soul, and lifts one’s spirits. 

Perhaps it is the unseen energies emitted by the trees, grasses and other plant and animal life. It could be a feeling of returning home to the bosom of one’s mother that comforts the jaded heart of the “civilized”?  Maybe being in the presence of something greater and much more ancient, and imbued with an inherent mystery such as which lies at the core of nature’s beingness, leaves us feeling awestruck.  Perhaps we can touch the silent spaces within us as they are a reflection of the deep silence and mystery of nature, and for a moment know that we are as vast in our internal spaciousness, and as deep in the calming ocean of our souls as a Great Lake, no matter what the mad rants of our monkey mind would have us believe otherwise.

It is this deepening of Presence, I believe that instills a calming within us and clears our minds of its often useless, repetitive chatter.