I got a simple yet powerful lesson from nature last week. My friend Maria (walkinginspiritus.com) is working to become a nature coach, and I have agreed to be one of her practice clients. We met at a park and walked along a wooded path while she asked me thought-provoking questions. Then she invited me to wander off the path to discover some answers. My instructions were to go toward what called to me and to do what my body felt like doing.
As I moved off trail, I had to slog through deep snow, and I felt an old leg injury flare up. But then the vast expanse of snow beckoned me to play, and I started grabbing handfuls and throwing it up into the air. As the snow fell down, the sun shined through it and all I could see were gorgeous crystals, like diamonds in the sky. I forgot about my leg aching. I forgot about the cold. I forgot about the struggles I was describing to Maria just minutes before.
Ah…here was my lesson: When I am fully present to the beauty that is always around me, I forget my struggle. And when I let go of the struggle, I can find solutions that I haven’t been able to see. Also, when I seek beauty, beauty is what I find. Maria pointed out to me later that I had described some scraggly weeds poking out of the snow as warriors. And that’s pretty much what I felt like after just a few minutes listening to nature’s wisdom–tough enough to find the beauty in just about any situation.
Where will you find beauty this week?