There are times, even in a life filled with gratitude that the earth starts to shake. Recently I have been going through a time like that. Life seems good on the outside but listening to my inner self, I feel shaky and fragmented. I feel like I am walking toward the edge of a cliff that I might step off at any second. I need to be alert to prevent a fall. I am tense and ungrounded. It doesn’t feel healthy. So, being a rational being, I have been trying to think my way free of it. Well, that isn’t working. It is summer so I am just letting things go until the fall when some routines will re-establish themselves and I can make some changes.

Monday I had to make a trip to the north. I was cranky about it. I didn’t have time for the trip doing errands for other people. I decided to do a fast up and back, loaded up the van and headed out. How had I forgotten how much I love to drive on the open road? It was a perfect day. Once I passed Barrie the traffic thinned. It was just me and the stream of pavement. Suddenly I wished I had brought an overnight bag…packed for a month. I was headed north. The rocks of the Canadian Shield began to shoulder their way out from under the roots of the trees. I slowed. It was like they stood up for me. Their weight was solid on my shoulders, bringing them from my ears to a place that almost didn’t feel familiar. I felt myself come to earth. I was grounded for the first time in weeks.. I turned off of the main road and parked by a little lake, the rocks all around. I was breathing in time with the breeze and the lap of the water. Wow.

What is it that makes us forget ourselves? Something I have always known about myself escapes my memory. I love the rocks of the Canadian Shield, especially when they are splashed in water. They are me in a way I can’t describe. I need them. Just because I live south of them I shouldn’t forget my ‘true north.’ Keep reminding me because I will sure remind you to look for yours.