It takes more than a roof to make us feel safe, secure and comfortable. Beyond all else, it is in each other that we find our home. Whether with a spouse, child, sibling, parent, friend or pet — these spirits are whom we orient towards, for love has the greatest force of all. A force to both support and soften us.

Grief therapy through forest bathing or any other time spent in nature, can feel extraordinarily supportive. Loss of all kinds can really knock us down - have us feeling angry, scared, vulnerable, confused. Coming back to center takes time and for many, nature is an integral part of this healing process.

If she could talk to us in words, what would she say? Mother Nature is one of the most incredible, beautiful, powerful, sensitive, resilient and mysterious creatures. We often lose touch, not just with the blessing that it is to witness her, but that it is to be a part of her. Today we hear from our mother.

One of the things that matures us most is loss. And naturally the longer we’re alive the more and more we are brought to part with. We lose family to death, our “other halves” to breakups, homes to natural disasters, and jobs to unemployment. We lose our abilities to illness and atrophy, our possessions to theft, misplacement and degradation. Whether for relocation or a closing chapter, we leave behind our communities. Opportunities slip by, identities dissolve and we are forced to divorce our fantasies of what could have been.

To all those who have been through loss, you know that it is one of the most confusing, surreal, disorienting, humbling experiences - as each part of the self struggles to align with an altered reality. Some parts may never arrive. And then, there will be new pieces to pick up along the way. One thing is certain, you will be forever changed.

Dating online, dating in person. Getting to know a new friend, colleague or boss. Our life is an unfolding of relationships. Knowingly or unknowingly, what masks are we wearing and how do we posture ourselves in them? What do we hide and what do we choose to reveal? When is it safe to be our whole selves? These answers are not always clear and so in every interaction, we dance - each step testing the ground beneath to see if it might hold our full, relaxed weight. We want to let go because we want connection, and one cannot have intimacy without vulnerability.

We can all relate to the feeling of mourning for a missed opportunity. “I could have taken advantage of my time, what a waste,” leaves us feeling guilty and regretful. This negative perspective can pull us down. What if there was a different way of looking at things?

It is the forces of masculine and feminine that constitute our inner and outer worlds. We honor this duality for their relationship brings us to great learning and important balance. There is value in the contrast ⌯ Our experience requires intellect but equally, intuition. Our government is better for the contribution of both the left and the right. We need our comfort zone to feel safe and function, but we also need disruption to make us feel alive and require us to engage. The interaction is endless.

With enough time or the right circumstances we grow beyond who we were. Our once firm outer skin loosens for it ceases to accommodate our changing form. There are old parts of us that no longer fit who we are now or who we want to be.