Walking my malamute in the cold of a January morning, the sun rising behind the Grand Teton mountains, once again the word “the guardians” enters my mind. They overlook the valley, these three grand mountains, an ever-looming presence. Many people spontaneously say they feel them as protectors. True or not, people through the ages felt they had protectors in one form or another – plants, animals, spirits. Despite the advent of science, if we scratch beneath the surface that ancient sensation is still with us. True or not it gives comfort. And if it gives comfort, then it makes things better and thus can have real effects, easing stress; giving us the feeling something larger than us is looking after us and we are not alone.
The good news is we can get that feeling anywhere and with any aspect of nature. A tree in a city; a boulder we visit often and sit by; a hawk that flies overhead, wind rustling the trees. That it can be anywhere doesn’t make it less true. There is a mysterious spirit or wisdom inherent in all nature. It is our connection with it that makes it work, or our receptivity to what it is are emanating. Once we make a connection a channel is opened and we can receive from the other and feel eased, calmed, expanded. Then problems seem smaller and possibilities larger.
— by Susan Eirich, PhD —
