I love walking in the woods.

The beach used to be my favorite place. The expanse of looking out over the waves. The calming lap of the waves or cleansing crashing and spray of a stormy ocean would be a respite for my tired mind, body and spirit.

Now however, the coolness, the green, the grounding of the forest soothes me, calms me, allows my brain to slow and look around at the ancient life around me. I’m not exactly sure when or why the shift happened, that is another adventure into my search to learn more about myself. I only know that it is now true for me that I crave time among the trees much more than I used to.

As I was enjoying my daily walk with my dogs in my neighborhood with it’s old trees and the ramble through our neighborhood park. I began to think about how our lives can be reflected in the green spaces around us.

I began to think of the fires that devastated many areas of the US last year and, with the heat of this summer, fires again threated our fabulous, ancient forests.

How does observing and taking into account the way to bring a forest to health relate to brining your life back to health?

When I got back from our walk, I looked up the risk factors and behavior of fires and noted that there is a similarity in what goes on in many of our lives as we look to grow and evolve into the person we want to be. And, as I see it, the fires are a reflection of what needs to be addressed, healed if you will.

And that is why I believe forest fires are a symptom. They are a result of:

· weather conditions that seem to be out of control (I know. I hear you say it. Climate change has been accelerated by humans. Let’s just keep that in the back your mind for now.)

· fallen lumber

· Dog Hair Forests -the over-growth of smaller trees

· disease and insect infestation

As you look at the list above, what do you see that relates to your life?

Are you prepared mentally and physically for things that seem out of your control?

Is your mind and physical space full of clutter? How does that affect you? Does it have you feeling bogged down or tripped up at every move?

Do you “not see the forest for the trees?” Are there so many things on your everyday to-do list that you don’t have to time see your future much less plan and create for it?

How about resiliency? Can you “just say No” to those pesky people that drain you? Do you feel you have the strength when hit with negative thoughts and people in your life to move past them or remove them from your life all together?

Reading this, did you get some ah-ha’s on things in your life that need to change? And maybe you even got some ideas of what you can do. My plan was to remind you to look around you and know you can change what is happening around you by changing what is happening in you.

If you have a plan, I’m celebrating you. If not and you want one but don’t know where to start or you have a specific issue that keeps coming up for you, please schedule a time with me to talk. You deserve to have the life you want.