October 24 2022

A third strategy to help us believe that we can handle the difficult emotions of grief is spending time in nature. This is one of my favorites. I’m continually surprised by the profound effects nature can have on people’s grief emotions. In the two programs we offer in conjunction with Centre Region Parks and Recreation (CRPR), A Walk with Grief and Monday’s Moments In-Person Gatherings, there have been countless times when engaging with nature lead to small releases of grief and gains of encouragement. Take the time a woman found a tree nut, expecting it to be hard and sharp but learned it was softer than she expected. This offered her an invitation to consider that perhaps her grief would be softer to engage with than she had expected. Many thoughts and emotions can be harvested in nature.