Coping Strategies using Nature
There are many ways to utilize nature’s resources to aid in stress management, restore balance, improve health and help in healing from a loss.

Wilderness is a spiritual necessity,
an antidote to the high pressure of modern life,
a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.

Do not fail to learn from
The pure voice of an
Ever-flowing mountain stream
Splashing over the rocks.

Visualize that your mind is
a pristine mountain lake.
At the edge of the lake is a mountain ridge
with its image reflected upon the lake’s surface.
Imagine that your thoughts are winds
that ripple the lake’s surface,
preventing you from seeing the reflections clearly,
but as your thoughts slow down and the breezes cease…
you see the image of the mountains perfectly.

Stillness Meditation

Yesterday, I sat in a field of violets
for a long time perfectly still,
until I really sank into it-
into the rhythm of the place.
Then, when I got up to go home
I couldn't walk quickly or evenly
because I was still in time with the field.

We need to find God,
and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence.
See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—
grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun,
how they move in silence...
We need silence to be able to touch souls.

We must not forget to be grateful.
We walk for ourselves,
and we walk for those who cannot walk.
We walk for all living beings
past, present and future.

Grief Walking

We can’t escape or walk away from grief;
we walk through it.
And walking—not running, not crawling—
is the proper pace to be traveling.

1. Breathing: Being consciously aware of the air moving in and out of the chest. Focusing on breathing helps center a person, make them more mindful, attentive and feel connected.
2. Counting: Counting provides the tempo, rhythm and beat to the walk. One counts the steps in cadence with each breath.
3. Stepping: Stepping is the physical part of the process, placing one foot after the other.
4. Utterance: This is the mantra, message, meditation that is used as the focus of the process. The utterance should be one that has meaning to the grief walker—the name of the person lost, a traditional phrase, a brief prayer, or a favorite quotation. The utterances may need to change with time and circumstance.

• The Path of Image: The walker follows whatever memories, dreams or images that the mind or imagination brings forth.
• The Path of Silence: The walker opens his/her mind and heart by emptying the agitation of the outer world. This allows the walker to move into the present moment and become more centered.
• The Path of Prayer: The walker recites a traditional prayer, scripture or verse, line of poetry, or original prayer. The pattern can be repeated over and over, be rhythmic or not.
• The Path of Questioning: The walker poses a question and seeks an answer upon entering the labyrinth. Walking allows him/her to more deeply explore or become aware of possible solutions.

In the forest the seasons came
and went and with them,
death came to the flowers, trees and animals.
It was all part of the life cycle.
Death is an inevitable part of life.

• Roads may be hidden under the snow, yet we know that the path is still there.
• Trees and plants grow out of rocks where the roots have pierced through small bits of soil finding water for their survival.
• Wildflowers grow protected under a canopy of tree and plant leaves.
• Trees change their growth patterns, over time, becoming molded by the wind.
• Wounded, damaged or burnt trees continue growing despite large pieces missing or falling over, healing over the wounded part.
• New tree growth—plants, ferns, foliage, trees—arise from old-growth trees, cut down decades before.

Hikers refer to them as "middle-miles." These are the most exhausting, challenging miles on the path, when the exhilaration of beginning the journey has evaporated into drudgery and the promise of the path’s end has not yet given new energy for the stepping.

Ways of Getting in Touch with Nature
Those new to nature awareness or the thought of using the out-of-doors as a way of enhancing health and healing may need some suggestions for getting started. It is easy to become more aware of nature, through smell, hearing, touch, and sensing the outdoors. Noticing nature wherever one may be is another way of experiencing the healing benefits—whether on a city street or in the wild forest. When it is not possible to be out in nature, one can focus on the nature is around—a plant, a tree, the sky overhead, or a painting or photograph of a nature scene.

…a leaf fluttered in through the window this morning,
as if supported by the rays of the sun,
a bird settled on the fire escape,
joy in the task of coffee,
joy accompanied me as I walked…

Smells to Savor

• The damp, musty smell after the rain
• Fresh cut citrus fruits - oranges, lemons
• Freshly cut hayfield
• Lavender - sprigs
• Walking in Pine Forests
• Newly mowed grass or lawn
• Spring Wildflowers
• Bay Leaves
• Walking in a Eucalyptus grove
• Wild roses

• Hearing the running water in nearby creeks after a spring rain shower.
• Rolling down a grassy hill.
• Seeing and smelling multi-hued wildflowers.

• Cooling breezes on a hot summer’s day.
• Discovering a rainbow emerging from the clouds in the stormy summer sky.
• Standing under a waterfall and feeling cold water run over you.
• Watching the waterfalls create patterns as they crash into white foam.

• Watching your breath cloud up in front of you.
• Feeling the chill of a crisp fall day.
• Raking fall leaves in a pile to tumble into.
• Seeing a fiery display of fall colors explode with color on the hillside.

• Walking on freshly fallen snow.
• Crunching ice on puddles.
• Tumbling down a snowy hillside.
• Feeling the crisp winter chill on your cheeks.
• Making snow angels.

• Finding a place, hiking to the top of a hill, and seeing a breath-taking view.
• Watching the sun sparkle on a clear blue alpine lake.
• Noticing wildlife scurry about you, unaware of your presence.
• Walking through a redwood forest and having your footsteps and problems disappear into the stillness.
• Watching the fog roll in over the hills, like fingers, extending their way in the valleys.
• Sitting on the beach and listening to the steady, soothing rhythm of the waves.
• Feeling the sand in your toes, the waves on your feet while walking on the beach.
• Seeing the fog over the ocean, like a carpet that you can almost walk out on.
• Climbing up to the top of a hill and feeling the wind on your face.
• Dangling your toes in the water, sitting by a stream, and listening to the steady water flow.
• Breathing fresh clean air.

Wilderness can be appreciated only by contrast,
And solitude understood only when we have been without it.
We cannot separate ourselves from
society, comradeship, sharing and love.
Unless we can contribute something from wilderness experience, 
derive some solace or peace to share with others,
Then the real purpose is defeated.

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In the depths of winter,
I finally realized that deep within me
there lay an Invincible Summer.