One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” – William Shakespeare
Paddling in my ducky towards that old driftwood tree on Sweitzer Lake, I can’t stop smiling. There’s this lazy rhythm of paddles dipping and catching light. We spot a blue heron. I’m with my daughter. We’ve carved out just a couple of hours for a getaway, so no need to drive up the mountains to a Lost Lake or follow well-worn trails to mining ghost towns. We just plopped into the neighborhood lake and let the warm dappling light melt our words and hearts together.
It’s that season of the year to get out in the sun, slow down a bit, go outside, and enjoy one another. The North Fork pool in Hotchkiss offers water aerobics classes, which bring people together who might not otherwise leave their homes often. Just a few weeks ago, the water aerobics class wore matching hot pink sunglasses. You’ll know them when you see them in the community now, because they’re sporting these flashy shades and smiling bigger than they would if it were not summer.
As we paddle, we connect about my grand boys, about her aspirations and dreams, and about what she’s creating so beautifully in her world. She tells me that she has a friend who moved here from North Carolina almost a year ago and that this friend has told her repeatedly that she would not have stayed here in Delta County if she had not met her people at the nature group that my daughter and another one of her good friends pulled together several years ago.
It’s simple, really, and yet profound in today’s day and age. A group of women with small children comes together weekly, rain or shine, and finds nature together. My oldest grandson found his first frog on one of these forays into the marsh along the river. I don’t know what is better about the picture, his grin that reaches to the state line, or the grimace of the frog. (No wildlife was harmed in the writing of this article.)
One of the great things about gathering outdoors is that it’s simple and accessible to us all. Nature is one of the truest things that exists. Our souls crave the wilding of the woods, the wonder of water, and the majesty of the mountains. Being in nature gives us the simple faith and wonder of a child.
Very often in my weekly “Writing as Remedy” healing meetup, we go outside and find little scraps of nature, whether we’re on the edge of a parking lot or in the middle of town. We often scrounge in the cracks of the sidewalk or in the untended edges of a path for natural treasures. When we stop and stare and perhaps try to draw what we see, we find that we are being taught, that we are being unwound in the best of ways, as our pen tries to describe in detail what we usually miss seeing altogether in the rush of the daily grind.
There’s something about stopping and noticing nature that tames our own inner wild beast. My daughter and her friend are teaching this to their children. They are learning to be fully human, divorced from screens and connected to this beautiful creation called Earth.
“It’s been so good, Mom!” I glance back and see the powerful woman my little girl with braids has become. Her dark curls cascade, and her bronze, muscled arms propel the kayak. She is strong of character and beautiful. “I want to help others know how to do this. Give them ideas so that they don’t feel like they’re traveling alone or groping in the dark for something that’s so accessible.”
I admire my daughter so much for bringing nature to life for her children and for others. Get out there. We don’t have to go far. You will find yourself in the paths less traveled.
I’d like to thank my daughter, Kristin Nordhausen for taking so many of my rough drafts and smoothing the edges for our readers. She is moving forward into the delightful task of figuring out what she will do when she grows up. It will be great, this much I know. Thank you for your excellence, Kristin, and for sharing your gifts with Wellspring Vitality.
