I know this place, Petoskey State Park

 I know this place. I have walked its beach and all the hiking trails. I have visited the campgrounds and traipsed over the board walks connecting water to forest. I know in summer the beach parking lot is usually filled to the brim whereas today I am the only one out here. I have been here in all seasons, the hottest days of summer, perched under a small canopy reading and during the coldest days of winter, bundled up and sitting high upon a snow filled dune while journaling. I have watched the lake, wind and waves rise up huge as they encroach on the sand. Viewed the lake also while the surface was like glass and also frozen still in the dead of winter. I have collected Petoskey stones here - Michigan’s state stone of fossilized coral - and also collected many memories.

This park is located between my house and town so it is very accessible yet unspoiled. Just a quick turn off the main road takes you into the park as you wind your way to the beach or parking area closer to the campground. Depending on the season, I love starting a walk along the beach and then crossing over the boardwalks onto the forest trail which brings me back around to the beach again. This morning I will do neither as I have errands to run and I must get back home, but this quick respite gets my day started in the right direction. And spending time in the natural world gets my life going in the right direction too. In can be so easy to get swept away into the sorrow of the world and become weighed down to the point where much feels hopeless. I feel so sad for those impacted by the church shooting in Texas and anger too that our country isn’t doing anything to protect people against gun violence. But while listening to a newscast of the event, I heard a woman say those in the church were a tight knit community who loved one another and just wanted to live their lives in love. Those words resonated with me as I feel love is all we can hold on to when faced with such a difficult world. To live our lives in love, being with those we love and spending time doing what we love.

 

Having a sense of place, knowing the natural landscapes around us is a form of this expression. It allows you to get to know the universe on a deeper level, embracing its beauty and connecting with the divine. To create love between two things, a relationship is required. There needs to be an intimacy, a bond to get your heart singing. Once this bond with nature is created, it offers opportunities and messages to create bonds of love within the human world as well. Because humans are a part of the world of nature, the lessons they require are linked to nature, to Gaia. Nature then essentially holds the keys to the lessons you need to live your life in love.

 And how can I feel anything but love while sitting here, gazing out from the beach onto the rolling waters of Lake Michigan. It is why many people find healing in nature. Nature takes you back to yourself. Reminds you in its own way that you are cared for. Embraces you with the wind, calls to you as the waves crash upon the beach, easing your mind with the immensity of it all. To me, nature is Gaia - my god - and Gaia is love. Love is all you need.

I can remember when I first moved here and didn’t know this place. I didn’t know the trails that took me to the beach, got lost finding my way. I didn’t know the beauty this park held. Just saw it as a park without knowing its gifts. Without understanding what I’d learn here along its shores. But now, in relationship, I know how important being in this space, in the body of the natural world is to me. Continually grateful that I know this place...