~ THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE ~

For me, my morning runs are a spiritual retreat.  I have a "place" where I love to go.   

It is quiet.  There are no cars, maybe a few cyclists, some people walking their dogs, 

and, every once in a while, not very often though, there are some runners.

This place, which has become a sacred space for me, is known as Port Robinson, 

but don't let the idea of a "port" fool you, as there is only a small ferry terminal, 

that ferries cyclists, runners and walkers over to the other side of the canal.

The ferry only operates during the months of May through October, as the canal 

can often freeze over given the right conditions, so during the winter months 

my sacred space is usually devoid of people, except for a few folk out 

walking their dogs and who I suspect live in the area close to the canal.

The other morning, a few weeks ago now, back in early November, while running along 

the canal path, with each step, there was not only a deepening stillness within me, but 

also on the canal.   There was a calmness in the waters of the canal, that offered 

wonderful reflections of the trees dotted along the banks of the canal.

As I ran along the canal path, taking in the beauty of the reflections of the trees 

and enjoying the quietness of the canal waters, and of the place itself, 

a beautiful falling and fluttering Maple leaf caught my attention.

As the lonely leaf made its way from the tree to ground, caught as it was on the wings of the wind, I wondered to myself, why would this falling and fluttering leaf capture me in such a fashion that it would literally stop me in my tracks as I gazed at the beautiful colours of yellow and reddish/orange within the leaf, and also then to try and photograph it.

There were all kinds of leaves that had fallen, yellow, brown, red, lying all around on the ground, and many were still falling, dancing on the strong blowing wind, and I wondered 

why this particular leaf was so important.  Why was the leaf so present to me and I to it?

The moment that leaf began its fall, making its way from the tree to the ground, 

dancing so freely as it was carried on the wings of the wind, I am aware, 

completely and fully aware, of the unfolding drama, acted out by quadrillions 

of leaves, that in the yellow, brown, reddish/orange hues, its very lifeblood 

of chlorophyll has mostly withdrawn back into the tree, and the leaf is completing 

its journey from birth to death, returning to Earth, from whence it came. 

It is in this moment, marvelling in the many colours to be found in that leaf, 

which is more present to me now that ever before.  It has interrupted my run 

and caused me to pause, for in its death, this lone leaf, tumbling through the air,

helps me see the intricate beauty.  Its death brings forth a new beauty.   

In its death, this leaf, and others like it, it will give life to the tree.

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In the stillness of that moment, with the calmness of the canal waters reflecting the trees back to them, and even though there was a strong wind blowing, I had an inner peace, a calmness as I took in all that was around me.  I filled up my senses with the beauty that surrounded me on that early morning run. The physical had become spiritual.

ECOSPIRITUALITY & ECOTHERAPY

"In our time of religious intolerance and extreme polarization, it is easy to forget that the creations of nature remain potent expressions of the sacred, and that the first temples were to be found outdoors.   Some would say that Earth itself is a vast temple where, with faithful practice, humans can regain spiritual grounding and come home to a world ensouled."

Ecotherapy ~ Healing With Nature in Mind.