GET OUTSIDE

   One winter day while I was with some friends, I began to feel depressed and anxious. My friend Tom noticed my condition and suggested, “Why don’t you take a walk outside? “ I continued to stew in my own juices, and my friend Tom offered again, “I’ll bet you feel better if you took a little walk. “ Again I did not heed his suggestion, and my tailspin became worse. Finally, he said, “I know you’d regain your perspective if you just got outside. “ Then I listened. I went to a little park where I walked around a crystalline ice covered pond. I breathed the cold air deep into my lungs and felt the blood coursing through my veins. The stark beauty of winter was wondrously invigorating, and I returned to my friends feeling healed and renewed.

    Nature is the great healer. Many of the ailments that plague our society stem from the way we have alienated ourselves from nature. We live in little boxes piled high atop one another, breathe fecund air from auto and chimney exhausts, eat food tainted by artificial chemicals, and sit at desks in front of computer monitors for many hours a day. Then we wonder why we do not feel well.

    Even small doses of nature will begin to restore our sense of balance, wonder, and aliveness. I love to walk in the mountains, swim in the ocean, and enjoy the warm blessing of the sun. I am a spiritual being, and I honor my body as a friend and vehicle to feel the presence of God.

    Choose an aspect of nature that you love, and immerse yourself in the world that God created. Nature will heal you.

Alan Cohen’s A Deep Breath of Life, February 6

May this message inspire you day and your week.

Blessings now and always,
Rev. Sandy