Joy in Nature

After reading last weeks post, a fellow Soul Coach, Catriona MacGregar, asked if I would post an article that she had written. I am delighted to do so as Catriona beautifully describes her Joy in Nature. I hope you enjoy her experience as much as I did!

Joy in Nature
"Today, we miss the subtle changes in the wind, the calls of birds, the smell of the fragrant Earth beneath our feet. We leave little time for deep inner journeys or quiet walks in the woods even though who we are and what we are—the very root of our identity—is connected to the Earth. Peace, joy, and wisdom are within our reach - but are not found in the electric boxes lighting up homes and offices around the world.

It is in nature that our cup of joy fills to the brim. Joy is there in the yellow halo of a new morning sky. Joy is there in the animated movements of a gray squirrel leaping from branch to branch. Joy is there in the deep purple of a wild iris. Joy is there in the still, glasslike surface of the lake. We feel such happiness and joy in nature because we belong in nature. The Creator planted this joy seed in our heart that blooms in nature.

I recall a joyous moment, when my heart shone as brightly as the harvest moon. I was walking quietly in the early morning along a narrow trail in northern California. The trail, more fit for delicate deer hooves than human feet, wound along the southern slope of Mount Tamalpais. Yellow grasses along the trail brushed delicately against my calves as I walked. Three hundred feet below me was a small narrow valley, where the sunlight gave way to the gray-green shade below. The spring morning air felt cool on my skin and the sun was just beginning to rise over the closest ridgeline. A veil of fog was slowly lifting from the tips of the surrounding hillsides.

As I rounded the bend a few minutes later, a sight opened before me that completely shifted my consciousness. On the northern incline of the trail, in the sheltered blue-gray shade of live oak trees draped with Spanish moss, over one hundred of most exquisite wild white lilies sprang from the ground. Narrow beams of soft, golden light from the sun illuminated each delicate flower. Each flower’s six pristine white petals appeared to be communing with the sun as the light streamed softly between the upper branches of the trees. It seemed as if I had innocently come upon a mysterious gathering of angels lighting upon the Earth as flowers.

Elevated in that shimmering moment, every cell of my body filled with ecstatic grace and joy. Inhaling deeply, my lungs filled fully with the morning air still touched with the memory of the cool starry night. The sacredness of the place brought me fully into a moment of oneness with all of creation—a moment that seemed to span an eternity of time and space. I was the saintly white irises; I was the soft light of the sun; I was the powdery blue Spanish moss that hung gracefully from the branches.

When that moment had passed, I could hear with great clarity the delicate singing of the small stream below and the sweet songs of the birds. I felt lighter and immeasurably freer. Nature is the perfect portal to this sacred moments of joy. We all have the ability to become something new when we fill ourselves with the elixir of nature.

What kind of person will you be when you are filled with the warm rays of the sun, the clarity of the blue sky, or the freedom of a soaring hawk? Just go outside and lay in the grass, looking up at the trees and the sky. Take the time to walk over to the flowers to smell their fragrance; look deep inside their petals to see the subtle colors. Do not fool yourself that these acts are less important than spending tedious, long hours working. Instead, let these wild things grow inside of you, and from this, your soul will be richer than it will ever be from a thousand promotions. From this place of joy the light of your spirit can then change the world."

Catriona has been a voice for animals and wild places all her life. Catriona leads Vision Quests and Nature Quests to help people connect to nature and their own unique path in life. [Learn more at www.naturalpathfinder.com] She is the coauthor of Healing the Heart of the World: Harnessing the Power of Intention to Change Your Life and the Planet, along with Carolyn Myss, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Masaru Emoto, Fritjof Capra, Thich Nhat Hanh, et al. as well as the author of “Partnering with Nature: The Wild Path to Reconnecting with the Earth” available at Amazon.com.