It’s not that I’m a nature hater but I’ve certainly never been a nature lover.

I don’t garden, camp or hike. I don’t enjoy bird watching, beekeeping or spotting snakes. In fact, it sounds like torture to me. My husband always loved to sit on the porch and just observe. He found it relaxed him and he just loved watching all the wildlife. I would roll my eyes at him and never take the time to sit there with him. I felt like he was wasting time and I always had too much to do and no time to waste.

This past weekend, my friends and I had a girl's weekend at a spa. One of the things they offered was forest bathing and my friends were interested so I agreed to give it a try since I’m making an effort to try new things that are out of my comfort zone. Forest bathing certainly fit the bill! None of us really knew what forest bathing was. We just assumed it was a quiet stroll through the forest. 

The experience started with the guide instructing us to each find a tree and explore the tree. She told us to touch, smell and hug the tree and then we would share. Share what? The three of us exchanged glances of panic. “What had we gotten ourselves into? Was it too late to make an excuse and run back inside?” We felt we had no choice but to stay so we were each tongue-tied when asked to share our thoughts about our respective trees. Somehow we each came up with a comment that seemed to satisfy our guide.

Our guide led us a few more feet into the forest before we stopped again. This time we were specifically looking at a different type of tree and once again we were told to explore and share. This was starting to feel like school as I observed the tree and tried to formulate an intelligent observation. As we moved from one stop to the next, the questions the guide asked began to vary. We looked at plants, bushes, water and wildlife.

The forest began to look different to me. It was filled with so many things to see, smell and touch. It had a beauty I had never noticed before. I had always been so busy that I failed to pay attention to my surroundings. I would be thinking about what I had to do next instead of living in the present moment.

Forest bathing forced me to slow down and focus on the wonder of nature.

I’ve spent my life just taking my surroundings for granted. Gary, my husband, tried to tell me but I never listened. It’s ironic that it’s now after he’s gone, that I finally get it. He knew what he was talking about. For years, he was doing his own form of forest bathing right from our front porch.

Now that spring is in the air, I plan on carrying on his tradition thanks to my newfound appreciation for nature. I’m going to make it a priority to slow down and just observe all that I can see right out my front door. Even though he won’t be physically sitting on that porch with me, I know he’ll be with me. 

I’m so grateful that we didn’t give in to our initial desire to turn around when we were told to explore a tree and share. We were brave (or too embarrassed ) enough to push passed our initial discomfort and in the end, we were grateful we did.

We are now officially forest-bathing believers! 

Until Next time,

Debbie