From nature: Lessons in grief

There are countless lessons I glean from nature especially in moments of loss, pain, or anxiety. To be out there alone, accompanied by nothing but trees, insects, birds, and the beating of one’s own heart reaffirms her place in the world: that we are not outside it, but in it, a breathing thread connected to roots on the ground and the light above. There is no true end, for one end leads to a new beginning, and in that sense it never really ended but only took on another form.

Everything in nature changes. Even grief. As it runs its course, you learn that grief is simply nature reminding you that love for something so beautifully mortal existed once. Its roots run so deep that it left an imprint in your existence. And like a seed, that grief will go through periods of darkness, difficulty, and uncertainty. But allow it the gift of stillness and nourishment and one day it will grow into a tree: marked by a few fissures, but wiser, mightier, more compassionate, and sheltering for others in need of warmth.