Entry #7-Meditation in nature

Nature...the only love that does not deceive human hope

-Honore de Balzac

After sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. Within decades we must close our eyes again. Isn’t it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it? This is how I answer when I am asked—as I am surprisingly often—why I bother to get up in the mornings.

-Richard Dawkins

I need solace in nature like I need air to breathe. Lately, my life has been extremely hectic and stressful, but I know life can be like this sometimes.

My Grandma’s apartment caught on fire last week, but she was not injured. She was heating food on the stove and accidentally turned on the wrong burner that had plastic containers on it. The whole kitchen was damaged beyond recognition, and the rest of the apartment suffered extreme smoke damage. My grandma is 86 years old, so she is not able to do all the things she used to do, and sometimes she forgets certain things. She is staying at our house until her apartment is put back together, which will take at least 4 months.

Throughout a stressful event like this, I still had to go on with my life. I still have class, homework, and work. I took a personal day from work to help my mom with getting some of her clothes and personal belongings out of the apartment.

No matter how busy and stressed out I am; I have to continue to take care of myself, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Coming to my favorite place is part of my personal medicine and helps me in all three ways. I decide to sit on my favorite bench, but instead of looking around and exploring, I decide to try something different. I close my eyes and take a few deep, cleansing breaths.

Throughout the years, meditation has always been a part of my life, and I am trying to incorporate it in my life on a daily basis. It is quiet, no one else is in the park, and I have it all to myself. With my eyes closed, I can hear the duck calls and the soft breeze blowing through the trees. Most of the trees are bare and colored leaves still scatter the ground. I know the ground will be covered in snow soon.

Nature penetrates my soul with her calm healing power. She breathes in my soul, blowing away the stress like leaves in the wind. I feel more balanced, more centered. I continue to keep my eyes closed for about 10 minutes, really trying to focus my attention on my breath, which becomes one with Nature's breath. She offers me cleansing and renewing air to breathe in. This place has become my refuge, my place of solace.