Spirit Speaks – Walking the Land

Picture from http://www.crystalinks.com/

I am quite surprised by the number of people that tell me that they never go outside except to move from house to car to office and back.  As a child, I learned from my parents that one had to go outside and walk the land to stay healthy.  What I now understand is that walking Mother Earth is one way to reset one’s heart beat.  The prescription of “walking out in nature to lower one’s blood pressure” is really about getting back in touch with the Mother’s (Earth’s)heartbeat.

When we are outside, and walking the land, we absorb the understanding of the environment.  We may not hear everything at a conscious level, yet our bodies respond to the sense of excitement, of life, and in the rare instance where danger is present, our bodies will warn us of imminent danger.

Our Ancestors enjoyed walking holidays. If you travel to England, you will see the Walking Path right of ways that wind through farms and towns, properties owned by individuals and not the state,  representing a preservation of the old pathways that allowed people to go across land on the easiest route from point A to point B. 

One of the coming of age rites in many  indigenous peoples is to send the child on a walking quest so that the child has the chance to learn self reliance and to establish their own communication with Great Spirit.  Walking the land is a way to learn about the place one lives in. 

Going back to my youth, in the spring (and it is now spring), it was common to see a farmer out walking his land before planting.  My Dad said that one could get a feel for the land and whether it was healthy.  Sometimes, he even heard what crop should be planted.  I accepted this, although wondered how the land would know whether it wanted flax, or wheat, or even corn.  I now understand what he meant, because I too hear my land, my small garden patch, tell me what I should be planting when I first walk it in the spring.  As soon as all the snow melts, I will be walking my garden.

May you feel the joy of walking the land!

Judy@angelsandancestors.com   Sign up for Angels free newsletter at www.angelsandancestors.com