This morning I went for a walk through Bowen Park. Something I haven’t done since June – the end of the school year.
I am naturally drawn to walking through the forest, near creeks and rivers – any body of water (lake, ocean). Being surrounded by the quiet hum and rustle of leaves, birds and trickling (or roaring depending on the time of year) water is soothing and calms my body and systems.
While I was looking for a place to sit down next to a stream of water, I had seen these long stems or branches reaching over and into the water. At first I thought they were blackberry branches. So I carefully placed my feet on top of a large rock to make room for me to sit down. When I crouched down, I smelled mint. I turned around to look along the edge of the stream. There were full, bushy wild mint plants all along the stream.
My daughter had told us that they had found wild mint (and picked a bunch to bring home to snack on) near the river at forest school one day. I wonder if that was one of the spots they had found some while looking for crayfish.
This particular wild mint hanging into the stream caught my attention. It may have been the way the sun was shining and reflecting off the water or the way the water was gently moving around the rock and past the mint leaves. I just stopped to watch and listen.
Listen to the sound of the water trickling, moving along and around the rocks.
Listen to the breeze gently rustle the leaves nearby.
Listen to my breathing slow down and move with the rhythm of water.
Listen to and tune into my body and how it was feeling.
For me, being near creeks, streams, rivers – any moving water – feels like time slows down and draws me back into my body. Draws me back to feeling grounded, whole, and present. Whatever worries, stress, anxiety, thoughts, ‘to-do list’ things circulating in my mind feel like they are being washed and carried away by the water.
As I was watching the water flow over wild mint, I thought about the differences I noticed in myself and how I moved through the park over the past couple of years.
Early stages of healing through burnout
- my mind focused on the ‘urgency’ and ‘I only have this much time before…’ to get to the park and walk
- pre-planning which route I was going to walk and just start walking when I got there
- bringing my DSLR camera with me because I love observing, taking photographs and expanding my skills and creativity as a photographer BUT feeling like I don’t have the time to slow down and tune in to my surroundings AND also feeling
- feeling the pull or need to be surrounded by nature and get away from the ‘noise’
- at some point, I would always stop by the waterfall (lower and upper), sit or stand, and just listen to the water
Today/Later stage of healing through burnout:
- a sense of calm as I set my intention for the day – grounding and connecting with myself in nature
- feeling present in my whole body not just my head
- my eyes are relaxed, no longer squinting or trying to focus on something I wasn’t sure what I was looking for
For the time being, I am sitting with these thoughts and wonderings for:
– myself personally;
– what they mean when we are in relationship and community with others;
– what this means when we are finding our way as leaders, changemakers, partners, a collective or team