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Trees: Helping with Grounding and Loneliness


Dunskey Estate, Scotland  Photo © 2019 Mike Brouse


Path to the water at the Doctor's House, Newfoundland


I'm realizing how difficult it is to stay grounded in this time when we're constantly bombarded by news that causes panic and fear in all of us. And it's difficult to recognize when we're not grounded. I'm currently leading live online zoom discussion sessions with several groups made up of 4 artists each.  In these groups, I do a grounding meditation at the beginning of each session. I can feel the group energy change as we connect with the earth. Participants have mentioned how important and calming this process is.

"Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky."  Kahlil Gibran

It can also be a time of loneliness. Even artists who are so independent and truly love alone time can get lonely. That happened for me on Easter Sunday. I normally have the whole family over for the afternoon and for Easter dinner. We play bocci or frizbee or some made up game outside on the field, while we yell at the dogs for running away with the balls. Then we come inside for a delicious dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes and apple pie, served with conversation and much laughter. Yesterday we were all in our various homes, eating our dinners alone. My sad feeling lasted for the day, on a day we always spend together. I so missed being together.

Today, my daughter shared this post with me that she saw on Facebook, from the Iceland Review. Amazingly, in Iceland, where there are few trees, the Forest Service recommends that in a time of self-isolation and lack of physical contact, to hug trees to combat loneliness. Hugging trees is also a great way to ground ourselves, to feel the energy of the tree and to imagine following its roots down into the earth. It doesn't matter the size of the tree.

If you're not inclined to hug a tree, then just walking slowly and mindfully through a forest is also beneficial. The  research database PubMed lists 85 studies on the health impact of forest bathing, including studies indicating that it significantly lowers blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels  and sympathetic nerve activity compared with city walks, while also alleviating stress and depression. The most provocative of these studies conclude that exposure to phytoncides, the airborne, aromatic chemicals/oils emitted by many trees, have a long-lasting impact on people’s immune system markers, boosting natural killer cells and anticancer proteins by 40 percent.

If there are no trees or forests available for you to walk through right now, then just looking at photos of trees and forests will also do the trick. Here's a beautiful video about Gratitude for the earth and for one another from the Gratefulness.org website.




Old growth forest on Meares Island off the coast of Tofino, BC

When I am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees, 
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, 
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."

Mary Oliver

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