Your post this week made me very grateful for where I live! (semi-off-the-grid on ~30 acres) Although I do miss aspects of urban life, I feel much more grounded now with my neighbors being elk and other wildlife. I don't take my shoes off to connect much, but I am always getting my hands dirty.
One of my goals this year is to start bike commuting to town, rather than driving the six miles each way. It only takes about 20 extra minutes each way, and it saves me the stress of having to find parking in town. Your post rekindles that desire to make the effort.
Also, your post makes me think about the importance of bringing nature indoors with houseplants and other quiet, natural spaces to unwind, like a reading nook.
Yes great points and thanks for your writing here on Substack because you bring us a healthy dose of nature by sharing your life & surroundings. I always feel a sense of grounding in your descriptions and photos. I can see you out there biking into town. There’s something about biking that is grounding in a different way. It just feels right.
While the pandemic was (is) awful, I'm embarrassed to say how much I utterly loved lockdown. The chance to slow down and just be. To cook and eat all the food I purchased (instead of letting it spoil because I was too tired/didn't have time to make it). Time to exercise each day because there was no commute. Slowing down and enjoying being with friends (even if it was through a screen or at a social distance). I've always been a walker (even though I'm a Los Angeles native), and take urban hikes up the hilly streets in my neighborhood a few times a week (yesterday was fun, smelling all the pancakes on the griddle). While I don't take off my shoes, I still feel grounded by the trees and the flowers and the hint of the ocean breeze through those 3 miles. Now that we are "back to normal," we are back at that pace of working too much and being too tired and, yes, there's been a lot of spoiled food, I'm sad to say. (That's coming to an end.) I set my alarm for 4:30 with the intention of getting out of bed at 5 (I love me a snooze button) so I can exercise. An urban hike. Some living room yoga. A sail on my rowing machine. Something I like, something for me. I wanted more free time, less of a commute, less stress, so I took a major pay-cut with my current job. I'm starting to feel the sting a little bit, but it's worth it so I don't have to make as many other sacrifices to have a better life. It's so important to choose our happiness over things and expectations, because that's where all the good stuff comes. xo
That was a good story Karen. I could just see you trying to find the right spot with those multiple attempts to ground yourself. One advantage of having a backyard with a lawn, privacy to ground oneself. . I am often grounding myself pulling weeds. Haha! Actually I usually walk out barefoot with intention to feel the Mother Nature a few times a day to sock up some sun too.
Mother Nature does know best, doesn't she? There are so many things we take pills for when we could just choose a healthy lifestyle. I must confess, I forget to take my shoes off and walk in the grass this week, but I did walk five miles in the woods today, does that count? Didn't think so.
I loved this so much and can relate! I too live in a high rise, the river is a few hundred metres away and a park as well. I often think I’ll go by and do some grounding there, but instead walk through or past as there are things going on, people around that I’m not feeling comfortable being near and so on. Thank you for your words, they are an encouraging reminder for me to get back down there and find my place 😊
Love hearing this. Thanks for sharing. It seems so easy - but so hard at the same time. I’m still working on it, but it really feels good every time I get my feet on the ground. 😊
Your post this week made me very grateful for where I live! (semi-off-the-grid on ~30 acres) Although I do miss aspects of urban life, I feel much more grounded now with my neighbors being elk and other wildlife. I don't take my shoes off to connect much, but I am always getting my hands dirty.
One of my goals this year is to start bike commuting to town, rather than driving the six miles each way. It only takes about 20 extra minutes each way, and it saves me the stress of having to find parking in town. Your post rekindles that desire to make the effort.
Also, your post makes me think about the importance of bringing nature indoors with houseplants and other quiet, natural spaces to unwind, like a reading nook.
Have a good week, keep it up!
Yes great points and thanks for your writing here on Substack because you bring us a healthy dose of nature by sharing your life & surroundings. I always feel a sense of grounding in your descriptions and photos. I can see you out there biking into town. There’s something about biking that is grounding in a different way. It just feels right.
While the pandemic was (is) awful, I'm embarrassed to say how much I utterly loved lockdown. The chance to slow down and just be. To cook and eat all the food I purchased (instead of letting it spoil because I was too tired/didn't have time to make it). Time to exercise each day because there was no commute. Slowing down and enjoying being with friends (even if it was through a screen or at a social distance). I've always been a walker (even though I'm a Los Angeles native), and take urban hikes up the hilly streets in my neighborhood a few times a week (yesterday was fun, smelling all the pancakes on the griddle). While I don't take off my shoes, I still feel grounded by the trees and the flowers and the hint of the ocean breeze through those 3 miles. Now that we are "back to normal," we are back at that pace of working too much and being too tired and, yes, there's been a lot of spoiled food, I'm sad to say. (That's coming to an end.) I set my alarm for 4:30 with the intention of getting out of bed at 5 (I love me a snooze button) so I can exercise. An urban hike. Some living room yoga. A sail on my rowing machine. Something I like, something for me. I wanted more free time, less of a commute, less stress, so I took a major pay-cut with my current job. I'm starting to feel the sting a little bit, but it's worth it so I don't have to make as many other sacrifices to have a better life. It's so important to choose our happiness over things and expectations, because that's where all the good stuff comes. xo
That was a good story Karen. I could just see you trying to find the right spot with those multiple attempts to ground yourself. One advantage of having a backyard with a lawn, privacy to ground oneself. . I am often grounding myself pulling weeds. Haha! Actually I usually walk out barefoot with intention to feel the Mother Nature a few times a day to sock up some sun too.
Mother Nature does know best, doesn't she? There are so many things we take pills for when we could just choose a healthy lifestyle. I must confess, I forget to take my shoes off and walk in the grass this week, but I did walk five miles in the woods today, does that count? Didn't think so.
I loved this so much and can relate! I too live in a high rise, the river is a few hundred metres away and a park as well. I often think I’ll go by and do some grounding there, but instead walk through or past as there are things going on, people around that I’m not feeling comfortable being near and so on. Thank you for your words, they are an encouraging reminder for me to get back down there and find my place 😊
Love hearing this. Thanks for sharing. It seems so easy - but so hard at the same time. I’m still working on it, but it really feels good every time I get my feet on the ground. 😊