Finding solace in nature

We all need places of healing

Hi, and thank you for reading Looking to the Horizon. I write on many different topics because life is too interesting to be niche. However, travel, creative writing, faith and nature are likely to crop up fairly often. You can receive my posts for free direct to your email inbox as a subscriber - click the button below. If you’ve already subscribed - thank you!

This week I attended an online poetry workshop that invited participants to explore the beneficial aspects of being in nature. It was a very restful couple of hours full of beautiful imagery and words. There was also opportunity to write, and here I offer up one of the pieces I created. It doesn’t yet have a title. The photo is an actual beach in Norfolk that inspired this piece. The stunning beauty of this place more than made up for the bitterly cold January weather.

I long for the solitude 
of a deserted Norfolk beach 
held tight in the cold grip of winter 
the tide so far out, the sea 
is only imagined. The naked seabed 
shimmers with frost while the setting sun 
exhales a golden glow as it salsas leisurely 
with a solitary sandpiper. The strident keen 
of an oyster catcher spears my heart, 
calling me to remember who I am, to know 
why I am here. The wind grabs my scarf, 
tangles my hair, chills my lips, kisses 
my brow. This is my silver jewelled space 
of solitude. This is my realm of restored 
joy. This is the home of my healing.

Do you have a favourite place that restores your soul? I’d love to know where you find solace in nature.