We often think about January being a new beginning-the start of the Gregorian calendar. What a wild beginning this month is in Minneapolis. We will feel the impact for quite some time, as I write this it is not over. What I am struck by though is the role of nature. Throughout all of our man created drama, the Earth stays steady. The seasons cycle, the high and low pressure systems create weather-sometimes extreme and sometimes calm. The trees don’t complain, they just connect the ground to the sky. The water flows, then freezes, then flows. The wind chills and warms. We as humans are held by nature and are a part of nature no matter the chaos we create or try to resist.
Try resetting by connecting to what is holding you. Catch snowflakes on your tongue, really feel the Earth support you as you take each step, feel the wind on your skin and adjust accordingly, either bundling up or shedding layers. Go outside on a starlit night and ponder the vastness of what actually surrounds you and you are a part of. Sit or stand against a large tree and feel the groundedness of the roots and the expansiveness of the branches reaching toward the sky. There is balance in nature, sometimes we just have to be patient for the calm.
Try emulating nature. Create root systems that talk to one another and support growth for the individual tree and the community of the forest. Be the force of water who trickles and yet carves rock or the roaring of a waterfall after a significant thunderstorm. Be the gentle nurturing rain that supports life and growth. Be the sunrise or sunset that brings beauty and signifies a change, a beautiful transition. Listen to the wisdom of the ancient rock beds that have been carved by wind and water. Create a web of interconnectedness to other humans, the land, the animals and your heart. Be the holder and the held.
