"She was beautifully out of place. Sometimes I believe she intended to be. Like the moon during the day."
When I want to get my energy up, decompress, recharge, or center myself, I've realized nature is my happy place. Upon this realization, I've made it my mission to get out in nature at least a few times a week. So here are just s few snap shots of my morning.
Whats worked for me on my journey(thus far):
When I feel the waves of depression to start to creep in, which let me tell you, they have (and will continue with the ebbs and flow) I've started asking myself what made me happy as a kid? What are some of my best childhood memories?
Camping. Learning how to build fires and foil packs. Waking up in the middle of the night to drive a few hours north to race the sun to that cold, foggy white water shore. We (my Dad and I) would spend all day out there. Some trips filling our cooler of these beautiful, bright rainbow trout. Some trips just filling our hearts with love.
I use to spend hours outside exploring and playing make believe, only coming home when the sun went down. We use to go hiking and we explored numerous caves and water falls on family camping trips. These memories hold such joy. These are now my short term goals, to get back to the basics of who I am and what truly fills my heart. Baby steps, because you've got to start some where.
So food for thought... What made you happy as a kid? What were some of your most cherished childhood memories? The next question, how can you recreate those memories? The cool thing is, if you have kids, you get to live through them in that sense. If you don't have kids, let this be the little extra nudge you need or that friendly remimder to go do something this weekend that your inner child will thank you for. Maybe it's paintball, sketching, roller blading, kayaking, helping your neighbor or grandma in the garden... whatever it might be, go do it. Make it happen. You deserve it.
"I believe the best way to own your pain is to use it for good, to dance with it, write with it, Allow it to become a muse."
P.S. Channeling my inner (flower) child, I ordered these amazingly fun colorful headbands. (I think I got 6 of these for $10 bucks on Amazon prime, score!)
