Lessons, lessons everywhere...

The other week, I was walking through the woods with a friend. Our trail crossed another where we ended up behind two teenage boys. The boys were picking up large sticks and branches and were hitting the trees with them or were throwing them as far as they could, cheering after the sound of branch smacking into tree. As this behavior continued, my blood began to boil more and more. Here I was seeing primal behavior at its finest, aggression against Nature and I know what most people would say: but it's no big deal, they're just trees, who cares? you're making a bit deal out of nothing...

I tuned into the land spirits in the forest and asked what they had to say about this. Their words: "calm down." Calm down? How will that get them to stop? I finally asked my friend to say something to them and it turned into a huge learning experience for me. My friend was so calm. He asked them, "why are you doing this?" "Are you bored?" "Are you taking out aggression?" They didn't know how to answer. The one who was doing it the most, almost let a smirk cross his face, but I think he saw my face (when I'm angry - it's not pretty). My friend commented that what they're doing is destructive and unless they had a good reason for it, why continue? The teens mumbled and shrugged their answers, but didn't pick up another branch for the duration of the trail. The way my friend handled the situation was significantly more effective than how I probably would've handled it. If I'd said something, my emotions would have taken over and it would have been more of a lecture - to which they probably would've shut down and shut me out. The entire goal was to get the boys to reflect on what they were doing and why and maybe that it's not a nice way to treat Nature. Thanks to my friend's calm questioning manner, it got them thinking, owning what they were doing and they stopped. 

The next lesson was when we walked out of the woods. I drank some water and realized something wasn't right. Whenever I fill my water container, I always bless the water. I thank it and infuse it with the vibration of love. Water carries energy like you wouldn't believe, so why not put some great vibes in while hydrating? What I became aware of is the irritation I was feeling in the woods carried through to my drinking water. The water was holding my anger energy.  This really got me thinking as I'm also aware that our bodies are made up of more than 60% water. What had the anger and irritation done to my body and well-being??? Maybe that's one of the reasons why the Nature Spirits asked me to calm down. I re-blessed the water and took some deep breaths and exhales. 

When you see something that bothers you and you know it isn't right, SAY something. Better yet, turn the tables - ASK: 

• What are you doing?   
• Why are doing it?    
• What benefit does it have to you?
• How is what you're doing helping them/it?    
• How is what you're doing harming them/it?
• Are you going to continue this behavior? If so, why?

The goal is to get the person to think about it. They could be acting out or simply don't know any better. By asking them, they have to own what they're doing and it leaves the choice in their hands of whether they continue or not. Hopefully, at the very least, they will reflect on it. I'm grateful to the teen boys and the very valuable lessons they taught me. I guess we really are each other's teachers and students.    - Adrienne :)