Amidst the modern turmoil of the day, I am ever more grateful for teachings and practices that help me train my awareness and direct my life energy away from drama and towards meaningful activity. If you are like me, too often you may find your attention gets hooked by events, messages, thoughts and stories that contribute to feeling stuck in disturbing emotions like helplessness, anger, dread, or fear. At times like these we need regular invitations to slow down, recognize what is happening within, and to allow for the possibility that whatever is happening is as it should be because, quite simply, it is exactly how it is.
Learning how to accept the challenges and disturbing thoughts, feelings and impulses of life is a central task for us if we wish to live with strength, authenticity and vitality. From a place of acceptance we can begin to work towards developing responses to life situations that are not just reactive, but are meaningful expressions of who we are – incorporating our difficult emotions into thoughtful responses that reflect our unique perspective and our core values.
Learning how to metabolize difficult emotions and experiences into hard-won wisdom is fundamental work for each of us to do. For me, being in – and in relationship with – nature in a mindful way is a reliable practice to support me in shedding my painful emotions and developing the clarity, humility and care needed to continue walking into life’s challenges with an open and generous heart.
I want to share with you one of my favorite poems that expressed this quality of refuge that is offered by a relationship with nature. May you find in it what you need to restore a measure of resilience, peace and fortitude to meet whatever challenges you may face today.
The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
If you are more of an auditory or visual learner, or you simply appreciate good art, there is a lovely animated reading of this poem here.
If you are seeking refuge and are interested in deepening your connection with the natural world, please consider joining us for our next Wild Inner Stillness Men’s Retreat! You can find more information by navigating to our retreat page on this site.
