2022 is upon us…and we need Shinrin Yoku more than ever…
So how are you? How was your ‘silly season” ? Mine was lovely, although I needed a longer break and a rest because I kept getting colds and feeling pretty tired. It was crazy hot as well which meant I did not get out much and walk in local forests much. I swam a lot at beautiful beaches and planned what I wanted to do with this business this year, which involves writing and connecting more with you all.
This theme of connection keep coming up for me right now. I think because the weather has been quite ‘unsocial’. it’s way too hot to spend quality time reconnecting to nature or even to see friends and family when it’s so crispy and hot outside. Like nature is holding her breath. I’ve never really been in snow but I imagine it’s much the same for completely the opposite reason. Too hot or too cold- the earth just waits it out. Like we do.
We have family friends in Sweden, and I remember 15 years ago when they visited us here over Christmas how shocked they were that it was so hot. We stayed inside on Christmas Day as it was about 40 degrees Celsius and we enjoyed some wine and piles of food and then late in the afternoon we all put our bathers on and played cricket and swam at the beach. This is a very Aussie thing to do, and it was great to get outside after the heat of the day had passed and the earth stopped holding her breath and we could all breathe again. this time of year feels a little like mid winter, when it’s cold and dark and everyone sleeps and recharges. Hot weather is no different. It’s just as draining.
So I think we can all be forgiven for have felt a bit off the last few weeks. We want this year to be better than 2021, which, let’s face it, was full of fear, confusion, lack of knowing and having to sit with feeling really uncertain and uncomfortable for 12 months. And yet the weather has been standing still, stationary, while we want to be busy with summer. busy partying, having fun, relaxing, swimming, catching up with friends and generally feeling lighter.
But it’s not been that way for lots of people. It wasn’t for me, and I know lots of friends who are just coming out of long lockdowns and yet the weather hasn’t been great and a political mentality to just let this pandemic rage, be damned. This is upsetting, if not downright frightening for many.
So, it’s been an odd summer, so far.
The weather has made me feel completely like estivating - (this is the summer version of hibernating, and many WA plants and animals do it when it’s this hot- unless they are reptiles of course, who love the hot weather and recharge on it!). So i’ve had to just go with it. Estivate. Slow down, chill out. Rest. Recharge.
And today I’ve finally woken up and felt like now I can be productive. The new year has arrived.
Today I feel like I need to reach out and start connecting more with everyone, and I think this is something we are all feeling. The world is topsy turvy with pandemics and people feel alone, lonely and disconnected. When I walk in nature though, I am reminded we are ALL connected, every moment of every day, especially with nature as it’s breathing in and out like we are. It’s living, dying, reaching and seeking just as we are. Reaching out. Even if you can’t feel it or don’t believe me, just sit for a moment. Think about when you last felt the sun kiss your face, or leaves rustle beneath your feet?
Kahili Gibran said- “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair”.
So I’m excited today, to reconnect. To step forward into reaching out to meet you all somewhere, meet you in the sunshine, in the easterly winds, on the sandy shores in this westerly place. Here, in the south west of WA. So I’m making a commitment to blog more, to reach forward. To reach within and to show up and out.
I’m designing an online course. I’m super excited about it. I’m hoping it can bring us all a bit closer, and to feel less alone. This business is about 2 things- reconnecting to each other, and reconnecting outwards to nature. Nature, who intrinsically knows, the more we step up and connect, the less damage we will do to her going forward. Together we heal. Together we take better care of everything.
Are you with me? Great! Please get in touch. Please comment, email or call. Send me pics of how you spent your summer. And thank you, for waiting for me to finish estivating, because I will share soon. Only I need to grow a few more leaves and fronds to shelter form the summer heat first. To prepare the best events and activities , from my heart and from nature, to yours.
Thank you. xxx
Jac
