Tumbled Rocks Trail
I bundled up this morning and went to Spirit Lake. Although I haven’t been on it for several years, the Tumbled Rocks Trail is another old friend. The macadam walkway follows the western shoreline of the lake. Large boulders line the path and the steep grade going to the top of the bluff. They are the remnants of the Ice Age when glaciers pushed ahead rocks and anything else in their path. For most of the walk I was serenaded by the sounds of geese taking off from their resting spot on the lake. I’ve seen or heard pileated woodpeckers many...
We have our whole life ahead of us
My fearless younger self remembers the feeling of having my whole life ahead of me. She relished the possibilities. Life was an adventure. It could lead anywhere she chose. In recent years, it’s seemed like there were fewer possibilities. For the dreams that still remain, I find myself wondering if I have the energy to see them through. And then Spirit keeps bringing what I need – support, resources, inspiration – to take the next step. My older self knows to listen to the nudges of my soul and the opportunities that Spirit presents. They are...
Humanity’s original agreement with Mother Earth
Walking is my main form of exercise. It lifts my mood, and I feel strong and powerful. The movement brings any scattered parts of me back home, making room for Insights and creative ideas to drop in. I find comfort in being outdoors and interacting with the elements. When I walk, I feel the sun on my cheek and the breeze in my hair. I listen to the birds calling, the trees rubbing together on a windy day, or the gentle babbling of the river. I pause to admire the beauty of wildflowers along the way or to take in a beautiful view. Walking in...
Ancestral healing modalities
Ancestral healing can be many things depending on what is needed by the family system. It can be as simple as acknowledging and honoring the love, joy, and triumphs of our ancestors along with their pain and struggles. When we offer compassionate witness, wounds and patterns come out into the light for healing. Each family lineage carries gifts which have been forgotten. We can call on the collective resilience, wisdom and strength of our ancestors. We might reclaim healing abilities and practices that have been lost in recent generations....
Last fall hike of the season
Yesterday afternoon I took myself out to Steinke Basin for a walk. It is open for deer hunting, which begins today in Wisconsin, so it will be my last time there for a while. The last hike of the season is always bittersweet. I carry all the good memories of other walks from the year. The day one of my guides was singing “Do a deer, a female deer, re, a drop of golden sun…” in my ear on repeat and then a deer ran out from some brush in front of me. Connecting with the warm, gentle energy of bottle gentian. Finding a pileated woodpecker cavity...
Liminal space – part 3 – the fearlessness of the younger self
My senior year of college I didn’t feel ready to enter the work world, and I had no clear picture of the job I wanted. Thinking to get clarity in the meantime, I decided to put the decision off for another year or two and go to grad school. I remember being curiously unconcerned about details. I applied, got accepted, and even won a graduate assistantship that would cover my living expenses if I was frugal. That was the extent of my planning. I didn’t visit campus ahead of time, nor did I look for an apartment to rent. A couple months before...