Nature has become vital for my mental & physical fitness and overall well-being.
At closing in July 2021, my absolutely incredible realtor had to write for me to cut the final check of a small remaining balance. My carpal tunnel had developed swiftly & intensely starting in the spring and had shattered my ability to use my hands, particularly my right hand. The irony. An aspiring writer who can no longer hold a pen. I left for Mayo Clinic for a more comprehensive assessment of my physical demise two days after I closed in MI.
When I moved to my home nestled between the twinkling creek, rolling ravine & swaying trees; I thought I would be returning to Mayo Clinic by October 2021 for a fusion. Through a series of patient, yet calculated, decisions; I forewent surgery in lieu of one true attempt at physical therapy. After 8 sessions with an incredibly knowledgeable, caring & informative physical therapist, I was discharged. I cried the first 2x I said this aloud to loved ones. I am now in the strongest physical body & mental state, to date.
Eight months ago today, I moved to my one stoplight kind of town. My condo still had newly painted floors and unfinished everything in the mad scramble to move to my Lincoln Log Cabin in Pure Michigan. The movers, who were beyond incredible; arrived 3 hours early. My realtor, at the time, was a massive assist in helping the mad dash of getting all of the final items into boxes and bringing + assembling boxes. Fifteen minutes before arriving at my new home, amidst .5 acres of trees, trails, ravines & winding creeks in an Amish log, beautifully restored cabin; I got my first ever ticket driving.
I had my most precious items rattling around in the backseat, Piper in her pink fluffy bed in the front, compression socks on both legs and driving with my left foot, and wrist braces for my carpal tunnel. He gave me a 3 in 1 ticket, as I call it. One true ticket & 2 warnings although I did not officially open the letter or documentation until a month later. This was my first ever moving violation.
But peace was waiting.
Ten minutes later I soared past the blue sign with white letters that welcomed me to Pure Michigan; my new home. I found the most perfect oasis, which is now proudly my home, privately tucked into nature in all of her glory. My home is the perfect balance of allowing me to retreat in all of the necessary healing ways while affording me space to continue to personally grow, alongside a nook of an amazing new community.
To live life immersed in nature is more beautiful & more inspiring than my wildest dreams. Nature has provided solace. Grounded me.
According to Shondaland, “The earth pulses out an electromagnetic frequency – known as the Schumann Resonance – and the human body is fully conductive. Every single cell in our entire body becomes immediately grounded whenever we physically touch the earth directly. Twenty years of medical studies on grounding show that when we are connected to the earth’s energy, our bodies naturally go into a healing state. Everything from our brain waves to our muscle tension to our heartbeat responds in a healing way to grounding.”
Nature has provided a much-needed healing remedy to my physical ailments, while stimulating curiosity, finding stillness + balance all while finding myself jaw-dropped daily; marveling in some new glorious act of mother kind and nature.
“The healing power of nature recognizes the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. This begins at the cellular level. The building blocks of the body — cells — are dynamic, living units that are constantly working toward self-repair and regeneration.” Institute for Natural Medicine
The energy and solace found outside has all kinds of benefits from a health perspective. For me, the most healing component of being immersed in nature, is the way it restores + replenishes energy, curiosity, focus, perspective.
Losing any ability, at any point in your life, creates such uncertainty and disarray. I find my stillness & solace in nature. It is an extraordinary space to heal. Nature has become a place to discover and learn. If you embrace the stillness and simplicity of nature, trees swaying in the breeze, birds chirping across the ravine, spring peepers coming to life at dusk for mating season, the sweet dance that fire entails to be sustained. These simple, organic, natural elements embody self-sufficiency and simplicity that can only be found in true rawness + innate beauty.
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”
-John Muir
