Reflections

Tapping into your own innate creativity can help you get through hard times. Creativity has healing benefits, regardless of your artistic abilities. There are so many forms of creativity -- cooking, gardening, painting, coding, dancing, music, or making jewelry. We all have an interest or hobby that can be cultivated with our own unique personal imprint of creativity.

According to Julia Plevin, author of The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing, the more time we spend among trees and plants, the stronger we feel the connection between our hearts and the world. What religious ascetics have known for two thousand years, modern researchers have confirmed with science and data.

It was a sunnier day in the city, still cold, but people were happy to be out yet cautious with COVID still a very present scare. You could feel the energy lifting slowly as people dared to hope for easier and warmer days of spring.

Most agree that gratitude is a grounding good practice. But, lately I have been reading and experiencing how it can be taken to an even deeper level for greater healing. The science behind appreciation is compelling. There are seven scientifically proven benefits of gratitude which have been compiled from various sources by Amy Morin, Psychotherapist and international bestselling mental health author:

We are all eagerly (perhaps impatiently) waiting for spring, natures rebirth, and this is especially true after a year of Covid. While in many parts of the country it is still cool with snow blanketing the ground, there are still ways to deeply connect with nature.

This is the first of a series of blogs in support of mental health; the inspiration comes from Chase and the resulting grief after he passed. The many books, meditations and advice from others who have shared their stories have also contributed to this blog. Regardless of faith, wealth, race, gender or region, there is much suffering of the mind and it only seems to be escalating, further aggravated by social media and Covid.