Finding Solace in a Sit Spot

There is a magic in the woods that can only be found when you stop walking and start being. It's a magic that unfolds not in miles hiked, but in minutes spent in one single, chosen place. This is called the practice of the Sit Spot.

Your Sit Spot is not about the view. It's not a scenic overlook for a photograph. It is a sanctuary, maybe a humble one - a mossy log, a quiet nook between the roots of your favourite tree, a sunny patch of grass at the edge of a field. It is your personal window into the secret, slow-moving life of the natural world.

When you first settle in the world might feel still. But wait. Breathe deeply. Let your senses adjust to a different rhythm.

One day you might focus on movement in slow motion.

Watch the gentle sway of the tallest tree branches, conducting an unseen symphony. See the tallest grasses shiver and the ivy leaves shimmer in a breeze too soft to feel on your skin. Follow the clouds as they drift, like thoughts across the sky. You might even be gifted with a "fairy-trap" - where one leaf, one fern, one blade of grass catches the wind just so, beckoning you to come closer, as if to share a secret.

Another day, tune your ears to the wildlife.

Listen to the layered conversations of the birds - the alarm calls, the sweet songs, the chatter. Watch an ant journey across the landscape of bark, a monumental trek in a miniature world. Notice the rabbits hiding in the thicket, still as statues, or the squirrel chattering nearby, scolding you for intruding on his domain.

Or perhaps, simply notice colour.

From your spot, how many shades of green can you find? The gold of the last fallen leaf? The rich, dark brown of the wet earth? You might be surprised to find the defiant yellow of a gorse bush or a stubborn dandelion, a leftover sun from summer, shining against the odds.

Some days, you don't need to focus at all. You can just sit and let it all wash over you. Your Sit Spot is a place to breathe, to clear the clutter from your mind. It is a place to listen to the twin whispers: the whisper of the trees and the whisper of your own heart.

What are they trying to tell you?

Can you hear their gentle voice? Can you feel it in the air around you, seeping into your bones?

You are safe.

You are sound.

You are whole.

You are well.

You belong.

You are loved.

The forest does not lie. Its medicine is truth. All you have to do is find a spot, and sit.

Your Prescription for This Week: Find your sit Spot. Visit it just once. Stay for ten minutes. Don't try to do anything. Just be. And listen.

With love from the woods,

Diane