SIT SPOT

Before I began my training as a guide for Nature and Forest Therapy, I had
never heard the term. A sit spot is simply a favorite spot in nature or even
looking out your window at nature, where several times a week, one sits
with awareness and open senses. If it is ten minutes 3 times a week or an
hour five times a week, it doesn’t matter. Ideally, this special spot is easy to
get to. If it requires getting into the car or a long hike to get to the sit spot,
the likelihood of doing this practice diminishes. I have a bench that I
thought would be my sit spot in the woods overlooking a creek that is just a
few minutes away from my house. It is lovely, but it is also crawling with
ticks during the summer. For that reason, I decided to use a camping chair
and place it nearer the house next to my garden where ticks are rare and I
found I used it far more often. A deck, patio, or porch works too. It doesn’t
have to be fancy or exotic. Initially, I was restless and felt that my time
could be better spend getting through my endless to do list, but I stuck with
it. The sense of time dissolved. The sense that I should be doing something
else disappeared. Slowly, but surely, it has become a treasured part of my
week. To sit still and listen and look, to feel the breeze, the warm sun, the
sprinkling rain, snow, all feel like a gift from nature. A sense of calm and
peace settles inside me. I feel grateful to have a sit spot in my life. Try it,
give it some time, and I suspect you, too, will feel replenished by this
simple ritual.