The forest and the sights and sounds of God

 I have started to get back into my trail running. It has been a long trip back. I have been feeling better on my runs than I used to and it is such a pleasure to be out in the woods again with friends. Yesterday I went running pate hollow trail with my friend and it was such a delight. The woods were lovely and the weather was perfect. It was sunny and warm. I felt gratitude for being out there and being with my friend.
  I hope to be able to run and hike many trails this summer. I am looking forward to the greenery, birdsong and wildlife. Perhaps taking a kayak or canoe trip on the lake. I can get my camping gear out and ready and spend a weekend out in nature camping and running.

Nature is life's solution to anxiety and stress. It gives me a pause in my busy life, quiets my mind and feeds the soul.

It offers me the chance to feel that connection to the earth, the beings who share this earth with me and God. I can speak to Him in my heart when i am in that quiet place and actually understand what it is He wants me to do. By stilling the mind I can open my ears to what is really around me and what life is about.


I have been an Episcopalian for many years and love being in my church. It is a beautiful thing to also feel that quality of Earth and Heaven when I am amidst God's creation.

My favorite psalm is plasm 23 which starts: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul."

It shows in that psalm the quiet voice in the forest; the reflection of divine beauty in the surface of a lake. It brings serenity and a love for all that walks upon the ground, flies in the air and swims beneath the waters.

It is Lent right now which is the time of the year when we work to quiet our hearts and our minds to better hear the voice of God. We work to put aside the chaotic lives we live in and look inwards to find our most important truths.

For 40 days we work to lure out distractions and focus on how we can better understand what we are meant to do. Easter will be coming soon and with it the knowledge that we have been forgiven and will continue to be forgiven for our shortfalls and human folly. We are given a great gift.

So I will work to spend as much time in the warmer months to find those peaceful spaces whether alone or with good friends. I will breathe deeply inhaling the sounds and sights around me.

I am very lucky to live in a place now with so many beautiful parks and trails in which to spend my time. I used to live in Chicago which does have some green spaces but where I lived there were way too few. When I first moved here I was unused to the country and it spooked me. Now I know I can never live in a city again. I need these green, quiet spaces.


So now when I am feeling troubled and my mind is whirling around a million miles an hour I will get in my little orange beetle and head out to the trails. My longing will be satiated and my heart will find the special joy in the earth. I will run in the cathedral of the trees.