Forest Bathing

 A couple of years ago I was browsing in my favourite bookshop and came across a book about the concept of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku. It caught my eye and my heart and I remember dipping into this book briefly but not having the time to look properly I put it back and filed the concept away for another time. It sounded fascinating to me and since seeing that book I have seen this concept come up in several of my readings since.

My procrastination has led me to put off reading really deeply about this concept in the way that I would like to but I have relished the thought of spending time in nature with trees to see how it would make me feel. Trees are something I love and am blessed to be surrounded with on our 10 acre property. Many of them have been planted by us and we have had the joy of watching them grow but alas the busy-ness of life means I don't get up close to them very often.

We have a large woodlot at the bottom of our property that we planted 17 years ago for firewood. We put in eucalyptus and they have grown fast so the lot if full of tall trees now. My husband and i spent so time there today tidying up fallen trees ready for cutting up and I got to enjoy being among these tall specimens that we planted. It is quite a magnificent feeling to know we had a hand in the existence of these beautiful things.

As I haven't done the reading I want to do I am not really sure exactly what you should do when you are forest bathing but I confess I did hug and tree today and put my ear on it to listen. I did feel like I connected in some small way to the beauty of nature and the immensity of the Universe. It's a start. And it cost me nothing but some time taken to actually stop and appreciate what is right under my nose.