When we go into nature, we never come out the same. This is how I felt after a three-day backpacking adventure my husband and I just went on.
As you probably know by now, being in the wilderness is still very much a growth edge for me since I am a born-and-raised New Yorker. I am used to rats and cockroaches, not cougars and bears.
Yet, I am continually wanting to expand my comfort zone.
After years of befriending my nervous system through my meditation ritual, I have learned a few practices that help me ease anxiety and feel more equanimous as I enter into stretchy situations (ie. the wilderness).
One of the practices that helps me build trust and security is offering some words of kindness and compassion to mother nature as we enter her territory.
I’ve discovered that I don’t like to go into the wilderness with this colonial “taker” mindset that I can do whatever I want because this land is “mine.”
Instead, I find power when building mutual respect and a deep sense of honor for this beautiful land.
I say a few phrases like:
Thank you for sharing your beautiful abundant land with us
May we have a symbiotic relationship
May we be healthy and safe
May we treat this land with respect
May we learn lessons and be healed by your presence
Repeating these phrases as we enter the trailhead helps me rest in trust and love for nature. It helps me feel nature has my back just as I have her back.
This practice softens the fear response when walking into the unknown and instead helps me rest into equanimity.
What big and scary unknowns are you walking into this month? What would it be like to offer yourself and the experience some kindness and compassion?