“Slipping over the star-strewn surface of Black Bear Lake, I'm gradually imbued with the ordered goodness of our earth. Its gentle, implacable push toward balance, regularity, homeostasis. This seeps into my soul as surely as sphagnum moss absorbs water. Surely the entire universe must be operating in this way.” #AnneLaBastille A memoire published in 1976 about her Thoreau-esque experience of moving to a remote piece of land in the Adirondack mountains, Anne comes to the same conclusion as every nature-living author that I’ve read: she points to the cycles and rhythms of nature as being the unending, ceaseless, infinite constancy that keeps the world alive and well. Faith in that self-regulation, achieved by witnessing it for decades, brings with it feelings of safety, security, reassurance, and resilience. The steady heartbeat, the constant circulation of breath and blood that became patterned on our nervous system in the womb, continues to enfold us when we leave that generative space. Is it any wonder that we respond so beautifully to rhythm and cycle? The other element that’s related to rhythm is pace and tempo. Patience is the pace of Nature, to loosely quote Emerson. So too is patience a recognition that valuable things come out of slowness: nurturing, growth, and healing. It seems to be our human nature to value speed above all else: we root for the hare over the tortoise, we reward the fastest, we consider cleverness to be quickness, we call children who show their talent and skills early on “gifted” and decide their futures immediately. Through slowness comes a recognition that time goes a long way in healing all wounds, in allowing things to emerge, and in balancing things out. Watching how Nature operates - through centuries of rhythmic cycles - teaches us that (human) nature has this built-in, beautiful capacity to grow, heal, and balance itself. Slow down, take some deep breaths; be patient and attentive. Enjoy the ride. #Nature #humanNature #Patience #Resilience #Reading_Life #Reading #Writing #DeepThoughtsBySandy https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce9LGXxp5uA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
