Belonging to Nature
I have long turned to nature when I need to feel small. When I need to understand that the trees were here before I was and that they will be here for a long time after, I head for the hills. Sometimes, I need to feel small to reduce overwhelm and it is in my insignificance that I find my substance. During my cancer journey, I have found quiet companionship in the natural world. Nature became my medicine, acting as an ancient healer that asked nothing of me except that I show up, breathe, and listen.
Trees are great teachers, reminding us that strength is not about resisting the storm but about bending with it. They stand solid in the earth and when close to other trees, they whisper gently in the wind. Their roots signify connection, belonging and groundedness leaving me feeling a sense of being held by something larger than myself. In their presence, I am never alone. The trees offer a community of care offering me a place where I mattered simply because I existed.
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Walking 100 Miles in November
In November, I walked 100 miles for Myeloma UK. I have Myeloma. Me and 32,999 other people in the UK. Incurable but treatable is how it is described at diagnosis. Make of that what you will. But when rampant, the pain is excruciating and just a few months ago, I thought that I would never walk in the hills and the fields and the mountains again. Then they put me on a clinical tiral and once again I find myself in the heart of nature.
It was wonderful. I found a 3 mile circular walk from my house, through fields and walkways that offered the most beautiful visual imagery of Autumn at its best. I was reminded that walking for me is full of ritual that calms, connects and reminds me who I am. One foot in front of the other. Choose my own pace. Feel accomplished when I make it to the top of a hill.
Belonging in Nature
I feel like I belong when I’m in nature. Indigenous peoples often describe their relationship to nature as one of belonging, kinship, reciprocity and stewardship, rather than capitalisms’ delight in extraction, ownership and exploitation. This is expressed through practices and philosophies that see humans as part of the living world, not separate from it. The relationship with nature is not only spiritual but also practical; defending land against destructive industries, preserving biodiversity, and adapting to climate change. Indigenous ways of seeing the world remind us that belonging is not just human-to-human, but that it is also human-to-earth-to-human. We belong in nature simply because we are part of the living world.
Nature holds a space for me in my fragility and my strength. When treatments stop working, which they will, I know that I can close my eyes and I will remember the extra time I have been given and be able to draw upon how I felt when I was out walking.
Wisdom in the Journey
Nature can teach us that healing is not linear, but cyclical. That belonging is not earned, but inherent if we know how to find it. The support we need in our lives can be found in the silent presence of trees, in the steady rhythm of walking, in the shared purpose of stewardship.
As I walked those 100 miles, I carried with me the knowledge that every step was supported not only by my own determination, but by the earth beneath me, the trees beside me, and the community I walked for. Even in illness, I am part of something vast and enduring. And in walking, I discovered that belonging to nature is not a destination, but rather it is the journey itself.
To start a conversation about how we might work together to make a difference, contact lyndsaypa@lisacherry.co.uk