A Small Gratitude

I took a walk again today along the river with Kenya. The sky was gray but all the wonderful wild plants were in bloom, thousands of species I can't even name. I saw purple thistle, yellow mustard, mugwort, milkweed, radium weed, nettle, and skunkweed. I wished I'd brought my camera to share the color and beauty. Always my soul feels lightened and cleansed when I walk in nature. But my heart always feels heavy and troubled because of world conditions and my own adoptee grief.

I happened to find Yes magazine's wonderful story that illustrates something called "ecopsychology" another version of this story can be found on Alternet.com).Restoring nature, restoring ourselves. Something rings so true about what I find in nature when I take the time to look, listen, and open myself to its whispers. The quiet, unconditional generosity and wisdom of nature never fails to fill me with gratitude and I feel tears come from the overwhelming kindness and gentleness of the beauty and giving I find. Instead of going on about how terrible things are everywhere inside myself and outside, I think I must begin to make a difference by healing in myself and by doing something to help my Mother Earth, who I have betrayed unconsciously by my ignorance and impatience. My heart yearns to know what I can do to heal. I am ashamed at all the time I waste doing silly, meaningless things. There must be a better, saner way to live.