I took this photograph in a forest in Oregon. I had stopped on a little bridge to savor this creek and the warm touch of sunlight that stretched through the trees.

When I look at this image now, I can’t help but take in a deep breath, through my nose, as if I could once again smell the fresh, moist air alive in that spot.

These days I don’t allow myself to breathe deeply through my nose very often. It isn’t safe. Here, in the Silicon Valley, I live under a lens of perpetual smog. When my nostrils first encountered this grimy air, they promptly filled with mucous. Two years later, they’re still clogged, and I’m glad. I figure the mucous protects me, like an air filter.

The longer I am deprived of Nature, the more I appreciate its healing powers. Just to walk into a forest is to be restored. There is a natural rhythm to life, like a song. When we are in tune with this rhythm, we flow with the current of life. Spending time in Nature is one the easiest and most enjoyable ways to attune oneself to the rhythm of life, to the flow.

One of my personal goals is to promote wellness through Nature. I envision leading groups of people in the wilderness, supporting them in their re-connection to Life. This vision excites me because I can imagine that it would increase wellness in myself and others, as well as to help heal the planet.

As we rediscover the glory of the Earth, we increasingly care about her well-being. We are motivated to take actions small and large to heal the wounds we have inflicted, and to protect her from further harm. In this way, our healing and the healing of the Earth are intertwined, or simply, one and the same.