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Thoughts from the trail...
The Gift of Being Present
I’m reading an excellent book called “Your Brain on Nature,” which is all about the scientifically supported health benefits that come from spending time in nature. As I put the book down the other day and looked outside my window at the North Shore mountains it dawned on me that one of the requirements to experiencing the healing properties of nature is being present.
The healing properties of nature
I’m reading an excellent book called “Your Brain on Nature,” which is all about the scientifically supported health benefits that come from spending time in nature. As I put the book down the other day and looked outside my window at the North Shore mountains it dawned on me that one of the requirements to experiencing the healing properties of nature is being present. If you aren’t present, you won’t experience the healing qualities of nature that can come from seeing the greenery, snow-capped mountains, or a single flower in a flower garden. To put it more simply, if we aren't present to nature our mental health will suffer and the converse is true too; our mental health will be strengthened when we practice presence while being in nature.
One of the most compassionate things we can do
One of the most compassionate things we can do for ourselves and for others is to practice presence and here’s the thing: when we're present we’re not reliving the pain of the past, and we’re not worrying about the future. We know doing those things are detrimental to our well-being over the long haul, so why not practice being present and make peace with the present moment? It’s good for us!
Experience our truest selves
And here’s another thing... I don’t totally get this, it’s still a mystery to me, but I believe that somehow my deepest truest self is somehow being expressed when I am being present. When I simply am. When I simply "be" I am truly being me!
A growing feeling of gratitude
Something else I’m noticing about practicing presence is, and I believe the seed was planted by something else I read and I just can’t recall where, is a growing feeling of gratitude for just being able to witness all the wonderful things I get to witness in this life. And by “this” I mean life all the beauty that I get to witness each day. I’m grateful for this gift of being able to be a witness, and at the same time, I think an abundance of gratitude surfaces and is given to us as we take the time to notice. Again, if we didn’t notice and were never present, we wouldn’t recognize this gift or experience it as often as we could.
A healing presence
Have you ever been in the presence of someone who has an incredible presence? Have you ever been with someone and felt really listened to and seen? It can be quite powerful and not only that; I believe it’s a human need to be seen and to be heard. To be fully present to someone without judgment is to love them and to fulfill, at least temporarily, their deep need to be seen and heard.
I have a friend, let’s call her Sue who recently told me that she went to visit another friend of ours, let’s call her Wendy. Sue and I both agree Wendy has an incredible presence. Sue felt compelled to visit Wendy when she was visiting the town that Wendy lives in and when they got together Sue started to weep almost as soon as their conversation started. Then at one point, Sue told me that she stopped crying and she knew what to do with some of the things she was struggling with. Sue thanked Wendy and Wendy said, “I didn’t do anything I was just here.” That’s what happens sometimes when you visit friends with the kind of presence I am talking about.
Present to Presence
One of the things that we are doing when we are present to a sunset, or to another person is that we are being present to Presence. I think this can be most readily seen in nature and is probably why past generations were so much more spiritually connected than we are today. In the past, you couldn’t help but be connected to nature because you lived most of your life outdoors instead of indoors the majority of the time. You were more connected to where your food came from, how it grew and the seasons. Today, with so many of us living in cities and in the suburbs and with our attention going to our phones and other devices we have lost that spiritual connection that probably came naturally and more readily to our ancestors.
Restoring our connection to Presence
I think our connection to Presence can be easily restored though. There is hope. Making the connection to Presence is a gift, but we play a role in it, and it’s pretty simple and yet incredibly profound. I invite you to simply get in the way of grace as often as you can. Enjoy a sunset, watch your children or grandchildren play, spend time next to a lake or in the forest, and in no time at all the connection to Presence, as long as you are being present, will be restored.
If you keep being present to Presence, eventually the veil is torn and you will see Divine presence. It’s shimmering and delightful, and as I like to say, it’s always on tap. I know you’ve experienced it. I believe in your capacity to connect to Presence. The only thing you have to do is be present.
In process,
Rod
FOOTNOTES
Music: Solitude - Peter Sandberg, Epic Sound
Photos and video: Rod Janz
