On Saturday under overcast skies I took a morning walk at French Regional Park. I chose a path that goes through woods full of tall maple trees. It was like walking in a sea of green. All around me I could see
The Greens of Summer
lush and beautiful. Though it has been an unusually dry summer, that means something entirely different here in Minnesota than it does in other parts of the country. Our landscapes are still green in many places, especially in the native woods that used to cover this part of the state. I hope and pray that we continue to have these lush green summers and that drought does not become a way of life here. While my man-made lawn is struggling with the lack of rain, the wild plants and trees at the edges of our yard are lush and green. I would love to re-wild our entire yard with native plants but do not have the physical capability to make those changes now.
While I was walking Saturday morning I wasn’t thinking about climate change or dry weather or any of the other disturbing news events that have been occurring this week. I was simply soaking up the beauty of being in nature and giving thanks for the trees that surrounded me.
Nature’s Medicine
I don’t know about you but these days I need regular doses of nature to remind me of what is good and beautiful and right. I need to bow down to the trees and give thanks to the green plants. Even the debris on the path is beautiful to me when seen through eyes of reverence and wonder.
When I feel like I’m losing hope for humanity, the resilience of nature shows me that life goes on.
We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it.”
― The Long-Legged House
Some days it feels that all I can do is to love the woodlands, animals, and plants with my whole heart and to show others the beauty that I see in the world.
Do you also wonder what it is that you can do that is good for the world?
May you walk in beauty.
Just for fun I created some “daisy colored glasses” by combining two photographs in Photoshop
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