“Our Minds, As well as our Bodies, have need for the Out-of-doors. Our Spirits, too, need simple things, elemental things, the sun, the wind an the rain, moonlight and starlight, sunrise and mist and mossy forest trails, the perfumes of dawn and the smell of fresh turned Earth and the ancient music of wind among the trees…”
Edwin Way Teale
Yesterday,
To quote Mary Poppins, was “Practically Perfect in Every Way”.
Made even more so… by i’ts IMPERFECTIONS.
What was so special about yesterday?
The Divine Ordinary in the Sacred Everyday.
Here’s the highlight Reel:
I got to spend the day with one of my Favorite people on the planet, immersed on the land.
I cannot even begin to describe all the magic, but I’ll try.
The dappled sunlight through the canopy of leaves that danced through the brilliant hues of the blanket of green on the forest Floor
The rhythm of the waves as they crashed the beach, and the rocks on the shoreline
The insistent caress of a leafy branch against my cheek as we sat and watched the waves, and listened.
The Beauty of a majestic mature Eagle and a Juvenile as they soared by so close it felt like it was a show just for us…
HUNDREDS of Frogs as we hiked the GrassyTrail to the sand Point, a criss-crossing frenzy of Green , yellow stripes and brown spots
Making a Mandala on the Beach, a time to spend going in and reflecting in Gratitude
Finding Deer Tracks on the Beach
GIANT lily pads!
Feeling the Buoyancy of the waves as it supported my body as I floated on my back and let go, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, and the cool refreshing water surrounding me… cleansing, invigorating and Awakening.
Receiving and Reflecting on the elemental messages of support, Abundance and Letting Go.
It’s May again and that means it’s Mental Health Awareness Month!
You can donate your time, talents, or treasure to some amazingly worthwhile and meaningful organizations that focus on ending the stigma of mental health struggles. In theory, there has never been this much transparency, resources, and support available to those in crisis than there is in this current moment in history. And this indeed… IS progress.
But… (you knew there would be a but, didn’t you?)
Bottom line though, in reality…?
WE NEED TO DO BETTER.
WE NEED TO DO MORE.
Because of this I’d like to focus on the very real issues of AVAILABILITY and ACCESSIBILITY to services and support, WHEN they are needed and WHERE they are needed-because frankly, WE ARE DROPPING THE BALL.
RIGHT NOW we could be doing more (look for more on this topic in the coming days and weeks).
Availability and Accessibility
Deliberation by Mario Sanchez
Right now waitlists to see a therapist or mental health professional in addition to any higher level of care programs are at an all time high…
Today? Individuals that I work with have been waiting for a higher level of care admission for two months and counting.
My friends’ children have been on a waitlist for services for MONTHS and even just an initial mental health assessment? This option is currently nonexistent.
So what can we offer to these humans who are suffering, to these families in pain, while they continue to wait?
Thoughts and Prayers? While good thoughts and positivity are welcome, it’s just not enough anymore.
So what can we do in the practical, in the here and now?
We have been talking for YEARS now about ending the stigma of mental illness, and we’ve made progress, but we still have work to do. Think about what happens when one does finally reach out for help, for support, for resources, but is just met with….the void.
I guess my first question:
How can we fill this void?
Full disclosure and Disclaimer:
I don’t have the answers. What I do have is ideas about what can help.
To approach these issues from the front lines is admittedly difficult to do.
We need to address and talk about mental health from day one, from as early as birth… damage control in the later years certainly isn’t the logical place to begin or intervene.
Yet, here we are, in a (post?) pandemic world, with a war raging in the Ukraine, a near civil war going on at home, a political shitshow society, in a TikTok augmented reality social culture.
A more connected, yet less CONNECTED culture than ever before.
Identity crisis??!!
Damage control??
How do we help people out of the void?
How do we effectively guide others back home to themselves?
How do we foster within ourselves the hope, the connection, the LOVE that is a fundamental requirement for healing the world?!
How do we bring back the child-like mind of curiosity, wonder and AWE?
How do we foster this in ourselves, so that it spills into others?!
I would like to suggest with all the love and respect that I can possibly muster…
WE NEED TO WAKE UP.
To the work that’s being done all around us, outside of the Proverbial Box.
I would like to suggest that egos be dropped and set aside.
I would like to suggest that doctors, clinicians, therapists, and healers from all walks and all disciplines start working together and be given the Permission to do so by their governing bodies.
As a Nature Connected Transformational Guide, I operate under the umbrella of CAM (complementary and alternative Medicine). I do not treat, diagnose, or prescribe. However, Often.. I do refer to clinicians who do and often encourage collaborative action. Yet I can count on less than one hand the times that bridge has been traveled both ways.
I would like to suggest that bottom lines and profits, big Pharma, and “best practices” be replaced by connections and symbiotic relationships.
I would like to suggest a return to the Roots.
Relation. Ritual. Ceremonial Return to Nature.
Ceremony and Ritual
As John O’Donohue Beautifully writes:
“What you encounter, recognize, or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach. Many of the ancient cultures practiced careful rituals of approach.. An encounter of depth and spirit was preceded by careful preparation.”
CAREFUL PREPARATION.
Sounds novel to today’s ears, doesn’t it?
Why should access to mental health services and supports rely solely on access to health insurance?
Why aren’t more clinicians, doctors, and therapists given the permission to look outside of the box in the interest of helping patients heal?
Why is the revolving door of mental health treatment evaluated through the lens of what is PROFITABLE versus what is EFFECTIVE?!
So how do we fill this void?
For me, it’s shining a little flashlight on another way. A way that works, because it’s designed to be FOR YOU, in tandem with whatever YOU need.
Curious. In Tandem. In Connection. With Self, Nature, Western Medicine, Eastern Thought,
Earth
Conscious.
Aligned and Alive.
Hopeful….
The opposite of the VOID.
I challenge us all to ponder the question and emphatically implore curiosity in the realms of REFORM, personal responsibility and a noticing of the NEED to WAKE UP, CONNECT, and COLLABORATE.
Consider … What does this call to action mean to me?
Namaste. Stay Wild.
Suez Nields
As always, Comments and Positive Engagement and Conscious Thought Dialogue Welcome!
#TWLOHA (To Write Love on her Arms) Crisis Text line : text TWLOHA to 741741
#SSS (Stop Soldier Suicide)
#22aday
#tilvalhallproject
#NAMI
National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800) 273-8255
The Trevor Project (866) 488-7386
Trans Lifeline (877) 565-8860
Contact Suez Nields at Anam Treo, LLC for Collaboration!
Well, It’s been waaay more than a minute since I’ve put pen to paper ( literally, I am that old school, and pen and paper are part of my process!) at least on the personal side of life, anyway. There has been so much happening behind the scenes. I’ve been juggling all the balls and the “writing the blog” ball just got suspended mid-air, while I attended to the others.
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
For Me, when time stopped and the whole world was caught in the unknown , when COVID’s grip forced us all to slow down and look inward (at least that was the way I chose to Frame it.. To me, it was a gift) it gave me the time and space to explore where I wanted to go next. I was searching for a way to marry, and ALIGN who I AM, with what I DO out in the world.
I wanted to connect my love for nature and my absolute belief in Nature’s ability to heal and to facilitate change and transformational growth, and my passion for helping others.
I spent a lot of time connecting to soul. And true to the “nature” of our Inner Wilderness, Once I landed there … it was there the answers were revealed, once I really began to listen.
I embarked on a six week online Nature Connected Leadership Course through the Earth-Based Institute out of Boulder Colorado, which was Truly, Life Changing . It led me to pursue Continuing Education through EBI’s Nature-Connected Coaching program. A yearlong , Intensive Hybrid of In-person and Online Training.
I am proud to shout it from the Mountaintop that:
I Am a Nature-Connected Transformational Guide.
I am pleased to offer services through my private practice :
Footfalls and Feelings: 