A Conversation with Nature

Thinking of a childhood memory of laying on a picnic table looking up at the clouds and watching them change, I felt warmth in my heart. Once I started having a conversation with nature, things shifted. It felt so weird to have a conversation with “nature” and realizing that I was having a conversation with myself.
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I feel safe here on this picnic table. I can breathe. I am warm.
I feel small. Insignificant in the world but important at the same time.

You are safe. You are loved. It’s okay to step away
from your busy day-to-day to rest and reflect.

Sometimes it’s hard to work stillness into my schedule.
I’m struggling to get back into yoga right now.

Don’t overthink it.
You will go back to yoga when you are ready to make a change.
It will be there waiting for you.

But I’m frustrated that I’m not fully taking care of myself right now
and falling back on old coping mechanisms.

It’s okay to feel all of your feelings.
The only way out is through.

Feeling is really hard sometimes –
especially when feelings hurt.

But those feelings are
the most important ones to feel.

But I feel so DEEPLY when I let myself.
I don’t like pain.

Nobody really likes pain, but if you shut out pain
you also shut out joy.

I know.
But it’s not easy.

Crying is cleansing. It’s okay to cry.

I know. Sometimes the best advice I give others
is the hardest to take myself.

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At that point, I felt sadness creeping in. A tightness in my chest and tears welling up in my eyes. I was able to let go and cry for a couple of minutes. It was a needed release.