Earthing

 “Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”

—Robin Wall Kimmerer

    

Tyler and I returned home on Saturday from our trip across the Sierra. I have felt unmoored since then. I found the trip to be thought provoking, beautiful, but not always easy. We traveled some backroads that were rough and would have been inaccessible had we not been in  a four-wheel drive vehicle. Tyler had invested in an electronic GPS mapping system that proved invaluable, and we were able to find and camp in sites that while on public land, were fairly remote and wonderfully quiet. Every night we sat out under a dark, clear sky filled with stars. As we sat in silence, I felt embraced. The stars seemed to be singing a chorus of love that completely bypassed my ears but reverberated in my soul. I miss them.   

   

As we journeyed, we were surprised that we saw almost no wildlife. We saw what we believed to be kangaroo rats that darted across our paths as we drove. We saw two deer, not together or even on the same day, but both were standing in the middle of a highway. One night we heard a Great Horned Owl, and on another we heard the raucous celebratory yips and howls of a band of coyotes, animals that I deeply respect. The night that we heard them, we were sitting on some rocks above the valley floor (where we believed the coyotes lived) to watch the stars. There I saw a small mouse darting in and out of the rocks. It would periodically pause and look at me, and then dash away. I tried to not even move a stone in order to leave its home the way I found it.  Earlier that afternoon we were visited by yellow jackets. One landed on my arm. I was not alarmed because I, too, had on a jacket. Again, it paused and looked at me, and I returned the gaze. A few moments later it flew away, perhaps out of boredom. I do not know. 

 This particular campsite was so thickly covered in pine needles I could walk barefoot. I have since learned there is a word for this connecting to the ground: earthing. Research is revealing that earthing is healing for us, and I will add it is probably healing for the earth as well. I say that because we humans are generally not giving the earth a chance to rest and return to balance. Therefore, we are not giving ourselves a chance to rest and return to balance either.  I suspect gardeners have long known about earthing, even if they never heard the word or never have taken their shoes off to walk among the cabbages. Hands are also highly sensitive receptors.    

   

On this trip we saw far too many dead and dying trees. Drought, fire, and bark beetles have taken a heavy toll.  Yet, fortunately, there are still healthy trees, and one morning I was able to practice a Qigong standing meditation position, "embracing the tree" while standing among some of them.  I learned they are unafraid. I shall practice that as well.   

We camped at both high altitudes and lower. I shall write later about the desert. Thank you for reading. It encourages me to keep writing, and to keep exploring. I pray for those trying to recover from Hurricane Helene passing through their land and neighborhoods. Let us listen to her warning. She is quite sincere.  

    

     

       

image:  Donnell Vista, September 22, 2024