Meditative Soul: The Power of Nature

Diane Hibbard

For as long as I can remember, I have had a special relationship with nature. On our family vacations, we would take our girls to Moosehead Lake in Maine, and each morning I would wake up to see what the lake was doing. I would look out at the water to see the cove and then hike a mile and a half up the road to get a better view of the lake. Was it calm or rough, were there clouds covering the mountains, could I see boats on the water, birds in the sky, and was there different weather off in the distance? I always had a favorite place to use as a vantage point, past the Adirondack chairs at the bed and breakfast to the yellow house with the perfect view. I would be so excited as I hiked up the road in anticipation of how nature would unfold along the way and what the lake would look like when I could see it resting within the mountains.

I remember doing something similar as a child, whenever we went to my grandparents’ house on the bay in Long Beach Island. The minute we unpacked, I’d ask to go say “hi” to the ocean to see the waves, and notice whether they were calm and rhythmic or rough and turbulent. I’d be in awe either way and immerse myself in their power and beauty. I would take it all in, the beauty of ocean and the sky, the smell the salt air, the movement of the breeze. For the rest of our vacation, any chance I’d get I’d be in the water, body surfing in the waves. I found myself noticing the pattern as to which were the best to ride. One day, I remember thinking if I can just wait until that seventh wave. The first few would be tiny but starting around the fourth they would grow. Then it looked like the sixth was the best, until I could see the seventh rising behind it. How excited I was to be with the ocean and feel its ebb and flow. I wondered if I could I catch the wave for a ride or would it swallow me up and throw me about. And if I happened to catch the wave, what a thrill it would be as it picked me up and carried and tossed me as we skipped together across the water. I felt so connected to its greatness and so in awe of its beauty.

Back in Maine, as I climbed down the mountain, I would plan my next excursion on the water, going out in the kayak to try to find the loons. I could always hear them in the distance, but I would wonder if I could get close enough to take their picture. I would spend hours on the water, kayaking in and around the islands trying to find them and anticipate their next move. I’d have to be ready with the camera at a moment’s notice, because if I got too close, they would dip back down under the surface and pop up further away. For hours as I moved around the islands, I tried to be still and drift in the right direction, anticipating where they may pop up. One day, after many years of trying, I was finally in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment when a loon finally breached, rose up and spread her wings. What a beauty she was… showing such strength… rising above the water as if reaching toward the sky.

Having struggled with anxiety my whole life, it was during these moments, that I started to notice how soothing it felt to immerse myself in nature. I felt comforted by her as if she was trying to reach out and heal me as I was trying to capture perfect moments with her. I also noticed that if I mentally focused on each picture long enough, it started to tell a story of hope, of peace, and of healing. Years later, when I was no longer traveling to Maine each summer, I would think of a picture I had taken there and started writing whatever would bubble up. It was in those moments, that Meditative Soul was born. I started taking more pictures of nature wherever I was and would often think about what message each was telling me. I noticed the messages were often of the hope, beauty, goodness, and strength, that I needed to hear in that moment. The more comfort I sought, the more the messages connected with me spiritually to soothe and heal me.

What I started to see was there is beauty all around us. If we could just take a moment to pause and see the sky, the trees, the birds, the water, and God’s creatures milling about, we could experience the power of nature. Each has a story of love, of beauty, of strength and resilience, and we need not look far. We just need to pause, wait, and listen to what comes to us in that moment. I imagine it’s exactly what we need to hear… that we are all connected, to each other, to the Divine, and that we are loved ... truly and deeply loved.

Diane M. Hibbard, BSEE, LMT, RYT

As Meditative Soul, Diane shares her love of nature through her photography and reflections to help offer moments of comfort, support, healing, and love. You can see more of her work at http://meditativesoul. com/escape/ and her book, Escape into Nature… and Soothe Your Soul.