Nature's Calendar

The winter solstice invites us all to slow down, reflect and find harmony with the natural world, season by season

- by KATRINA REID

FOR three years, I visited the same forest. During those same three years, I was recovering from burnout and anxiety. In that time, I discovered a relationship with the plants, trees and nature itself.

They gifted me a mirror - a reflection into a deeper understanding of myself - and showed me that if I lived more seasonally, like the plants, the seasons and our ancestors did, then I could heal. I listened and I healed.

The biggest lesson I learned from returning to the same forest almost daily for three years was that I am nature and nature is me: nature is us.

I began to notice which of the plants and trees stayed green all year, their role like protectors of the forest: strong and unwavering through all seasons.

Even their new buds appearing in spring reminded me of the surge of energy I feel at that time of year.

I watched animals disappear and then reappear when the weather warmed, mirroring our own re-emergence after a long winter spent indoors.