Summers here in Ontario are short and sweet, so I’d like to invite us adults to take the opportunity to recharge with Mother Nature’s offerings. I personally enjoy the small wildlife that appears with the warmer weather. I have a real affection for watching what the bunnies, hummingbirds, robins, chipmunks and dragonflies are up to, or even catching the magical glimpses of fireflies. There is also a real enjoyment that comes from seeing all the colours and smelling all the scents of the flowers that bloom; of keeping track of how the apples are growing on the trees.
How Can Natural Elements Calm You?
- Sun – feeling the warmth of the sun on your face for a few minutes, or watching the beautiful colours of a sunrise or sunset
- Water – staring out at and listening to the rhythmic waves of a lake, swimming, floating, wading in the water, or stopping to listen to the rain
- Earth – pressing your bare feet on the grass, sand and rocks, leaning against a tree or just resting your hand on the trunk and looking up at all its glory
- Air – breathing in fresh air, the feel of a breeze against your face, arms, legs, or listening to the rustling of leaves as the wind blows
- Fire – enjoying a bonfire; the smell, the crackle and pop, just soaking in how it lights up the night
Bonfire Activity
Write out something you’d like to get off your chest, an issue you’d like to have more peace with. It could be about a person/event/circumstance/relationship.
Now write what comes to mind regarding this thing – your thoughts/feelings/sensations/emotions (I like to tap when I’m doing this part).
This activity can be done with school age kids too, simply adapt it to their level. For example, is there anything that makes you mad, or sad? Depending on their age, they can use words, pictures, or symbols to communicate their feelings.
Now here’s the tricky part – no reading anyone else’s paper; unless someone asks you to read it. This is pre-explained before the writing begins.
What surfaces for you as you think about not reading what your partner or children wrote? Perhaps you think, sure that’s fine. Or maybe it’s, what do you mean I don’t get to read theirs? I don’t even get to ask if it’s ok to read it? Nope. This is where our ‘stuff’ can come in, our insistence on needing to know because (fill in the blank with your personal need[s]). The point is to create safe and supportive space where we can write out what we’d like to, without any expectations of having to show it to anyone. Then we get to toss this issue into the fire and watch it burn beautifully in the flames until it turns to ash.
I would love to hear from you. You can join the conversation on Facebook, or you can send me a private message here.
Nicole