To me being in nature while experiencing the release of trauma and grief is like being supported by a loving friend. Not only do I feel nurtured and listened to without judgement I also feel understood. I am able to be vulnerable and open enough for the depths of my pain to bubble up to the surface and out…

“Strong people aren’t simply born. They’re made by the storms they walk through.”

I have been taking a look at what happens in nature when Trauma presents as in bush fires or drought and floods and also what us humans scar the earth with.

Upon looking at the surface after a bush fire it all looks dead and charred, all the colour and beauty has drained away there isn’t much that remains of what was alive there left.  The trees may still be there, but there are no leaves, no inhabitants, nothing that represents what was there prior. That’s what is going on at the surface level, what you can see.  But underneath it all, magic is occurring; new life is ready to take form and spring to the surface. 

Seeds that may have lain dormant for years are now ready to hatch, making the forest different to what it once was, yet beautiful and alive once more.

I am working my way through an old trauma that has resurfaced, out of the blue.  One of those moments in my life that I thought I had dealt with, yet there it is, out of an innocent interaction I found myself in a place where I had forgotten that the event had happened, I thought that I had buried it long, long ago.

I believe that when you are ready to deal with a past trauma or grief it will re-surface, so I am looking at this as a gift and dealing with it this time around.  The time is right and the time is now.

I am taking my lead from nature, I am spending a lot of time in nature (what is new), mostly the creeks as that seems to be the place where I need to be.  Maybe all the running water helps take my tears away.  The sounds, the beauty, the smells, the age of the stones and the trees surrounding the banks are all a sign that life continually changes, grows and moves forward and onward.  Nothing ever stays the same, especially around a creek and who would really want it to, the same goes for life.

I see myself as the place where a fire has gone through and on the surface I am feeling charred and burnt, yet underneath I know that there is new growth ready to spring forth.  New beginnings to come to the surface and push through to support something more beautiful and balanced than what was there before.  What survives is truly a gift to take hold of, or this is what I am hoping will happen.

Have you had anything like this happen to you?  The trauma happened so long ago, 28 years ago to be exact and I didn’t even realize that it still existed in my body.  Aren’t our bodies amazing?  I realize that dealing with things and letting them go is different to burying them.  So, now the bush fire has been through and the seeds have sprung forth ready to morph into a new landscape.  That is me right now. 

I have also asked for help this time in moving beyond it all and releasing it once and for all.  That is important isn’t it, asking for help when you need it, when you feel that you can’t do it on your own.  There is strength in being vulnerable.  But mostly I am willing to continue, to move through and to empower myself in new ways that maybe weren’t possible before while I was still carrying around this “thing”. 

Here is an article that I found on one lady’s journey back to healing herself through nature after experiencing trauma HERE

What I did during this time:

• gave myself permission to feel it - fully!

• found someone to support me through this and made an appointment

• gave myself distance from other people, taking the pressure off having to pretend to be okay

• spent a lot of time in nature both releasing and enjoying being present to the subtle beauty that surrounded me

• released it once and for all