Nature as healer

My love of nature began as an infant safely ensconced in a playpen in the shady corner of a garden while my mom and my grandfather worked the land and grew the plants that fed our family and many others. I learned to love plants in that garden, and I walked those rows, sowed many seeds, and harvested crops with my beloved grandfather until I married and moved away.

People speak of animal whisperers, and we love animals. Our family whispers to plants more loudly than to animals though. Plants are vocal, in their way. They rustle, droop, sprout, spread, and turn. Caring for a plant requires noticing their posture, their moisture, their color. They forgive all but long-term neglect. They reward attentiveness with vibrant leaves, colorful petals, and fresh air.

Moving into big cities meant that I looked to parks and gardens for support in difficult times. The Norfolk Botanical Gardens stood by me for years. Beaches stand by me still. As have gardens that we nurtured in our backyards. Walking outdoors soothes me as I watch neighboring gardens grow, listen to wind in trees, and notice small creatures who inhabit our world alongside me.

When my partner became ill, we walked miles upon miles. Nature soothed us. Movement rocked us. Together, they strengthened our connection, and together we regulated our anxiety. When he died, I could not understand how I could survive without the heart that lived within us both. So, I did the only thing I still knew to do. I walked. As I walked, I leaned on trees who have lived long past those they love: trees who whisper to those who listen.

And, I found Antonio Machado’s poem, “Traveler, there is no path.” I adopted his advice, “The path is made by walking.” I continue to walk, not to find my way or to follow a path. I no longer seek answers to the unknowable. These days I simply take the next step while I look to mother earth and honor her cycles. I seek solace where I have always found solace, in nature.

Starflower Meadow continues my walk into an unknown future where there are, sometimes, no answers, where heartache can be held, and where grief’s despair transforms into love for all those lost, for all those who will be lost to us in the future, and for all those still to come. Starflower Meadow is my restorative place for healing through nature.