An Eco-Therapy Practice for When You Feel Alone and Life Feels Heavy.
Currently, as a collective, we are faced with some big and scary stuff. There are political agendas prioritizing dehumanization and the destruction of land and other beings in order to further capital gains for some people. There are technologies pulling us more indoors and onto screens, asking us to rely more on machines than on our intuition and our reciprocal relationship with nature. There are shifts in our climate leading to natural disasters, grief, loss. There are more and more demands for our attention and our time, leaving many of us exhausted and tuned out from our relationships, both with ourselves and others.
We can go out into the world and do all kinds of things to try to feel less alone, less heavy, or to change our current circumstances and many of them can be helpful! The tricky thing though is that if we are doing these things from a place of obligation or fear or just to go against someone or something, we often will eventually burn out, feel disconnected, and/or lose our sense of meaning.
I felt inspired to share a little practice with you because of all of this. My hope is it could be a way to start turning back towards relationships, those with yourself, others, and with the rest of nature. My hope is these relationships could be restorative and provide energy, meaning, and connection in the midst of facing the hard things.
See if you can pause whatever you are doing.
May you be able to rest for a moment.
See if you can begin to just notice your breath and the way that as you inhale and exhale, you are in contact with the world around you.
May you be present.
See if you can notice the life around you in this moment or imagine a natural place/a being that you feel drawn towards.
See if you can really be a witness to this place and/or these beings .
May you be able to access curiosity and wonder.
See if you can notice your inner experience as you are connecting with this place/these beings.
What are you aware of?
May you recognize that you are alive.
See if there is anything you want to express. Maybe there is joy or gratitude, maybe there is a silent wish, maybe there is a question, maybe there is just stillness.
May you be able to feel connected.
See if you can now come back to your breath. Is there something you can receive from the world around you? Is there something you can offer to yourself?
Finally, see if you can receive these words from me: You exist. You Matter. You are not alone.
If you are curious to learn more about Eco-therapy or what it looks like to work with me or consult with me, please reach out!