The Healing Power of Nature: Learning to Love Yourself Through Stillness

In my blog post from yesterday entitled

“Nature’s Quiet Wisdom: How Nature Teaches Us to Love Ourselves”,

I talked a little about how paying attention to nature can help us to slow down and learn a it can teach us how to love ourselves. You may be wondering how that is even possible. So, I decided to right this blog to explain it a little.

I took the picture above at St. Mary’s Retreat in Sewanee, Tennessee. My wife and I were on a Silent Retreat this particular weekend. For me, silent retreats are some of the most spiritual experiences that I have had during my lifetime. When I was younger, I would go outside and sit in the wrought iron rocking chair on my parents deck and just looked up at the clouds the sky. At the time, it was just God, nature, and me. I enjoyed that but did it less and less as I got older. So, when I was introduced to the Silent Retreat by Dr. Jackie Halstead, I was taken back to my childhood and reconnected to this time of peace. My first one was at Poustina in Columbia, Tennessee. This is where I had the spiritual experience of reading the Text and finding out how arrogant I was as a preacher and teacher, and it showed me another lesson about the power of prayer. I wrote about that experience in my blog post entitled

 “A Silent Retreat at Poustinia.”

I know there are some who do not see the value in spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines. However, these practices (especially the silent retreat and prayer) have been beneficial to me. To sit there and have a connection with nature has been one of the most profound things that I have ever experienced. Watching the animals and listening to the natural sounds are relaxing to me. This time helps me to think about how the Divine Creator has created everything that I see and hear. It is a time for me to understand my connection with Creation and with the Divine. I have had memories that helped me to connect with ancestors. This time helps me to detox from hustle and bustle of everyday life and recenter myself. When we come to understand that we are a perfect blend of Creation and the Divine we can learn to allow nature to heal us its various ways and help us to learn to love ourselves at a deeper level because we will embrace the fact that God continues to breathe on us even though we may feel far away from the Eternal Spirit.

As you walk look around, assess where you are, reflect on where you have been, and dream of where you are going. Every moment of the present contains the seeds of opportunity for change. Your life is an adventure. Live it fully.
Dr. John Francis