For as long as I can remember I’ve always felt like I didn’t fit in, and it’s take the better part of my life to figure out why that is.
I grew up with stories about what life is supposed to be about, what success is, being a good person, the need for money, how smart I am based on what I achieve. I never really understood these stories and I could only perceive them in my mind. And because I was too afraid to ask questions I found myself going through life believing these stories and always being met with discontent. The only question I really asked was to myself, “is this all there is?”
The void within me was deep. I couldn’t fill it with friends, books, religion, or even marriage. I retraced my childhood to recall what used to make me the happiest, but even those stories came up short. I had a yearning desire to find purpose, but it was nowhere to be found.
That is, until, one day I found myself standing on the edge of a mountain with a lot of regret about all the decisions I made which continually left me feeling hollow.
It was there on the edge of the mountain top where I heard a gentle voice whisper, “don’t regret the decisions you’ve made, and don’t worry about what tomorrow will bring….just be here, now…that’s all you have to do.”
I felt peace when those words poured into my soul. I felt the breeze like I never had before; I felt the ground beneath me, supporting me; I took in the view that reached far out beyond; in all, I experienced the beauty of creation with a renewed and silent mind.
From that day on I climbed back to the top of that mountain every day relishing in the silence and allowing myself to be present. Being present and listening, nature told me a new, yet very old story; that I belong. And I belong simply because I’m breathing….simply because I exist.
In every breath is new life.
In every breath is a love story.
This is the story I’ve been waiting to hear. The story that nature has reminded me – I am indeed connected; that I am a part of something far greater than my own individual life. The feeling I get when a beautiful sunset leaves me speechless is real; a solitary walk on a misty mountain trail is real; empowered by the beauty of the natural world, feels real.
The truth and the unconditional love that I find in its purest form in the natural world, is my origin and that is where my story starts. And my story is yours!
In fulfilling your natural attractions, by opening your senses and becoming aware of your intimate, interconnected relationships with nature, I hope that whatever void you might have right now will be filled to capacity.
Whatever story you’re in right now or whatever story you believe about yourself, allow nature to offer you a place and a guide for stillness, so that you may stop doing….and simply be!
Enter into nature’s wordless story and rediscover the wildness that is within. Be humble to the dominance of nature. Never attempt to push against it.
You will not be alone as you will find that the rest of creation is breathing with you.