Three Ways Nature Can Support Your Mental Health
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The harvest supermoon, which occurred earlier this week, was incredible. I saw it gradually growing from Up North, for an annual weekend adult getaway. We had clear blue skies every day and cloudless nights, making the moon shine brightly against the lakes and trees. With the warmer weather, I had the opportunity to jump into Lake Michigan after a canoe trip and felt so revitalized by being in the water. Up North water feels different - clean, spacious, perfectly cold and pure.
This annual trip has become so important for my husband and I, lending itself to a grounding ceremony as we transition into Fall. Not only do we get to celebrate the beauty of leaves changing, but we also get to find a respite in the busy season to reconnect with nature: the ultimate healer.
I feel this trip was timed perfectly with the news of Dr Jane Goodall’s passing last week as well. It also felt somewhat kismet that last week’s article, written before news of her passing, was about indifference, and one of my favorite quotes of hers is:
“The greatest danger to our future is apathy.”
In a world dominated by screens and fast-paced energy, there is so much we can learn from nature.
1. Nature offers us an invitation to slow down and connect with what is real.
I 100% of the time feel better after a walk through my neighborhood woods. I always find comfort after spotting a cardinal, blue jay, or deer. The bees that land on my hand so gingerly or bumble after me while I ride my bike remind me that I am never alone. The moon regulates my entire body, so much so that my monthly cycle is perfectly synced up to her phases. And whenever I am near water, I am reminded how much we have in common, as I, too, am almost entirely water.
2. Nature is essential to helping us restore our humanity.
It helps us find connection with all living things, develop more compassion and mindfulness, and the spiritual awe and higher selves we need for our own consciousness evolution. And yet, as a species, we have tried to tame the wildest parts of nature, raped the natural resources for our own profitability and purpose, and abused its living creatures and dug up the roots for a better view. This lack of love and connection for nature and its aliveness is killing us as humans. As we rely more on technology, we deny ourselves the growth that comes from nature’s gifts and lessons. It’s never been more evident that we’re going in the wrong direction.
This upcoming weekend, I have the incredible honor of attending and facilitating a small part of Gateway Farm’s Ecopsychology Convergence. I will conclude the day by leading participants through a moving meditation that connects our shadow selves with our own treatment of nature.
3. Nature has so many metaphors to offer us if we show up, look up, and listen.
Throughout this entire quarter, our team has been exploring the integration of creative expression in our work, and every time we discuss creativity, nature inevitably plays a role. My favorite part of the quarter was when our Ann Arbor team got together to discuss nature resilience metaphors.
I decided to put together my own list for you today.
Trees and flowers help us understand the fragility of life, death, and the cycles of rebirth.
Oceans, lakes, streams, and rivers remind us that rough times always pass, that despite a chaotic surface, we can find calm within.
Animals help us learn how to take care of others.
Tending a garden helps us learn the resilience of the earth, patience, and the rollercoaster of growth and development.
Insects and bees help us understand that even the tiniest and annoying have a purpose, an order, and an importance here.
Sunsets and sunrises keep us in the rhythm of hope and opportunity, that this too shall pass.
Sunshine helps spread light across the darkness
Moonlight reveals that even in darkness, there is light
Shadows make us aware of where to look
Mountains remind us how grounded, stable energy prevails against almost all threats.
And a favorite poem I get often on my tea cup:
"Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of heaven?" — Clara Lucas Balfour
I’d love to hear your favorites.
Support for Your Mental Health
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Conscious Transparency: This newsletter was edited by AI for grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, but every idea, tone of voice, perspective, and word choice was my own. This newsletter is imperfect because a human wrote it. Thank you for your graciousness.
This week’s Tools, Gratitude, Innovation, Feels
Tools: Have you started composting yet? In a household that often wastes food because of picky young eaters, my conscience is gratified by the ability to send food waste to a purposeful end…and a new beginning. We use Midtown Composting services, and it has been seamless for the entire past two years.
Gratitude: I’m pretty happy and grateful for this post created by our lovely marketing & branding coordinator, Ana. She has done an exceptional job showcasing our community partners and involvement on social media—a place that often tries to capture your attention. Instead, Ana is posting intentional, grounding content. Thank you, Ana.
Innovation: Like perhaps some of you, encountering mid-80s weather over an October weekend gave me mixed feelings. While I was grateful to have one last dip in the lake, I was alarmed, thinking perhaps our seasons are permanently changing. As our climate is continually impacted, the innovative practice of ecopsychology is never more urgent in driving our connection to the Earth, both mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Feels: Many years ago, I had a climate-related panic attack. It catalyzed a now almost 6-year spiritual journey for me. I’m so thankful for that shock to my system, because it reoriented me to my role and my participation in the interdependence with nature around me. During my first therapeutic psychedelic experience, I felt profoundly touched by Mother Earth and her confidence in being okay. Realizing I’m not in charge of what occurs, but rather that I can listen more deeply to her, I felt relief and surrender from my climate anxiety.