Down to Earth

Often our heads are way too far away from the earth, spending much of our time in thoughts, dreams, visions and plans, intoxicating and diverting us from more present and earthly endeavors. We think too much about other's opinions and seek approval. We think too much about what might be right or wrong for us. From this rootless perspective of our heads, we exaggerate our problems, imagining more and worse than is really there. We become dramatic and obsessive. Our ungrounded minds wander off and create chaos, causing our bodies to feel restless and edgy. We run around in a haphazard way, locking our keys in the car, dialing wrong numbers and leaving our wallets at the last establishment we visited. Our "ungroundedness" disturbs everyone in our path.

The moments of the present, of the earth, the ground, can seem mundane compared to the apparently limitless mind. But being grounded, literally, is what enables us to cast aside our heady visions and embrace our truth at the moment, giving us the freedom we need to be present and more alive.

The earth is there to support us. During these great summer months, find it, touch it and use it. 

Spread out in a freshly mowed lawn

Nap on the pine needle bedding of a pine forest

Wiggle your body through the warm sand of a summer beach

Lay back against a sun-warmed rock

Smear on some cooling creek or river clay

Plop in a mud puddle

Lounge on a bed of moss

“God owns heaven, but He craves the earth.” ~Anne Sexton 

“My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness.” ~Michelangelo Buonarroti