Earthing

I have been traveling in misery. I have severe plantar fasciitis in one of my feet and I have been working so hard to enjoy this trip to Florida without complaining and still getting around and keeping up with everyone. Some days have been better than others but it has mostly been agony.



Until today. I don't know why I didn't think of it before now but today when I arrived at Bok Tower/Gardens to meditate I had the brilliant thought to do some earthing and so I immediately took my shoes off and began wandering through the grass, soft sand, and dirt. HEAVEN. I was pain free for the first time in weeks and the peace was incredible. I was stunned how jarring it was when I left the grass and hit one of the paths. It wasn't even an asphalt path, just a manicured dirt one with wood chips but I immediately felt pain again and my peace quickly drained away. I ran back to the grass and stood there wishing that I could stay on that grass forever. (For the record, I adore my girl Michayla who made my toes pretty so that I could take this photo of my pathetically fat and flat feet!)

I could not stay there forever and I had to put shoes back on and return to the real world and in a couple of hours I have to return to the real, REAL world and that world is buried in snow and so earthing will be impossible for some time to come. Sigh. But I return to that world with more steadiness and peace because of the time I spent meditating and being with family over the past couple of weeks. I now understand more than ever the need to create a sanctuary in my own space such as Edward Bok did for America with his Tower and Gardens. Thank you Mr. Bok, for this and in so many other things, you are a true hero to me.

Nature knows best

I had a frustrating experience on the beach last night. I have always had such powerful meditations on the beach to the sound of the surf. For me, God's voice is heard in the surf more clearly than almost anywhere else. This beach visit has been anguishing because of heavy rain and last night was really my first chance to meditate on the beach. Something that I love to do at night but last night was different. I could not connect, I could not find my way into my usual meditative state and I felt so desperate and anxious and then I descended into a place of darkness. It was my fault, I am aware of that. There is much to learn from this, mediation has always come so easy for me but I need to be reminded that it is work and I sometimes need to put in some effort.

But the bigger lesson struck me this morning as I sat on the beach yet again with a book of poetry and found myself back in my meditative groove. It hit me that the meditations I have done recently at the Bok Tower Gardens have been powerful and filled with peace and truth. As I came to this realization it dawned on me that this is the voice of God that I need to hear right now, the voice found in the garden, among the trees, the flowers, the Spanish moss, and the meandering paths. There are times in my life when I need the voice heard in the surf, the energy and the power that is found there, but not right now, right now I need stillness and foundational strength that comes from the voice of a huge Live Southern Oak. And it's okay because there will again come a time when I need to hear the voice found in the surf.

In the end I am grateful for the gift of mediation and my ability to receive strength from the voices of nature and I am doubly grateful that God knows best what voices I most need to hear.

God without qualifiers

Each day as I drive to and from my favourite meditation place I pass a church that has a sign out front that states the following "OUR GOD IS AWESOME". Every time I see this I find myself wanting to stop and rip off the word "our" and run away. I have not really stopped to think about why until it struck me today after a powerful, loving, and moving meditation. While I am quite certain that the "our" is inclusive and not meant to exclude others, it could be taken that way and I hate that thought. If an "our" is placed in front of God then it can be understood that there is a corresponding "your" or "their" God. It hit me that this is part of the world's ongoing religious struggle. We keep trying to qualify God but the Being that I worship is not to be qualified. The powerful affirmation that I received in my meditation today indicated to me that I am a treasure. I believe that this affirmation came from God and I believe that the same affirmation can be applied to every soul that lives, has lived, or ever will live on the earth. God. Is. Awesome.

When I Grow Up I Hope to be a Live Southern Oak

The first photo is my tree. Well, not officially, but I call it as mine all the same. I spent my Sunday mediation time studying a live Southern Oak and this is what I aspire to be when I one day. But I must specify that I want to be the oak in the first photo. The oak in the second photo is struggling because it has not stayed ahead of the Spanish Moss and it may have lost enough leaf surface area to cause it to lose its ability to feed itself properly and that will be a death knell. While I was sitting and meditating beneath the branches of the huge, healthy tree in the matter of only a few seconds I was able to spot a squirrel, a jay, a flicker, a chickadee, a stag-horn fern, resurrection fern, mushrooms, lichen, and, of course, Spanish moss, not to mention a huge variety of insect life. All of these creatures were being supported by the magnificent tree. The tree has reached this state of magnificence because it learned balance as a young sapling. It was aggressive enough to keep its leaf growth ahead of the Spanish moss and used the food from those leaves to anchor itself deeply into the ground so that it could withstand the buffeting of the winds even with the added stress of the Spanish moss throwing off its equilibrium. As the tree grew and its large branches formed and spread other plants found a home there, air ferns and bromeliads settled in on the branches and found their way into the forks of branches and thrived. Birds nested in the tree, squirrels feasted on the acorns and insect colonies grew in its bark and roots and it took care of all of these plants and creatures and more.

As I contemplated all of this I came to understand that this is what I need to be in my life. I need to be like the oak who understands that it must aggressively make certain that it has enough of its own leaves and surface area to be fed so that it is strong enough to sustain all of the other lifeforms that rely on it. And with that foundation and strength, I need to allow others to lean on me and grow from me. But, like the resurrection fern, if those who are leaning on my don't find their own water, food, and nutrients, then they shrivel up and go dormant and there is nothing the tree can do, the fern is on its own. So much food for thought here that I am still trying to process. I love meditating in nature, I always get so much for my brain to chew on.