06/19/2024
Healing. What helps a person heal when everything in their life has seemingly collapsed? What must someone do in order to heal a heart? How can one finally rest when everything falls apart?
These are questions that have no definitive answers. At times we find our healing in other people. And for some, healing comes from the outdoors. The simple act of watching the wind flow thru tall grasses, seeing water flow over rocks, watching the clouds gather to storm on the horizon… it does something for the soul.
At the site of Elkhorn Ranch, Theodore Roosevelt healed his broken heart working the rugged landscape (his wife and his mother died within a day of each other. He came to Elkhorn specifically to heal). This is a place of solitude. It’s a place of resilience. This is a place where you learn to understand what you are made of and that you can overcome any challenge that life throws at you. This is a healing place, if you can allow it to heal.
I can relate to feeling broken, like there’s no where to turn and no one that truly understands. But when I hear the wind and see the sky, I know that I’m not alone. I know that I can learn to be stronger, learn to listen and to be compassionate. Nature, to me, is the hug I didn’t know I needed.
