We take just one day each year to recognize, celebrate, and cherish the Earth, our only home, the planet that gave us life and continues to nourish us as best she can, even as she’s not feeling so well these days.
It never feels like enough.
So this year, I wanted to give more. I created a guided meditation to help you calm your nervous system and feel your connection to the Earth more directly.
The anchor for this practice is simple: the sensation of your feet on the ground, and the points where your body meets what’s beneath you. You’re invited to imagine roots extending deep into the Earth, drawing in nourishment, and offering your care back in return.
Being on video isn’t easy for me. There’s a kind of vulnerability in being seen that can make me freeze, even when I know I have something valuable to offer.
But here I am. The Earth means that much to me.
I started recording this at my desk, but life interrupted, and I had to head home to my kids before finishing.
When I arrived, it was a brisk, bright spring day, and the small patch of forest on our land was calling me.
So I grabbed my phone, a tripod, and a frisky dog, and went outside.
Recording there, amid the trees, beside a burbling brook, with crows cawing overhead, felt entirely different. I was calmer and more connected. It was like the practice, and the place had aligned to produce something I could not have done without the forest’s collaboration.
I left with a deeper connection to that little grove and a new sense of how I want to create these offerings going forward.
If you can, find a quiet place for yourself to listen. Even better if it’s somewhere in nature.
I hope this practice is of benefit.
With care,
Heron
P.S. If you enjoy this practice, you can subscribe at befriendingyourself.org, and learn more about me at heronpayne.ca!
