A Piece of the Action

The other day I was reading an article on the subject of Earthing. Earthing is, essentially, walking barefoot on the ground. It is thought that when you do this, it  sends electrons through the body, which helps to optimize the immune system, release antioxidants and increase energy as well as reduce stress, among other things. From a spiritual perspective, Earthing helps you experience a more harmonious connection to the earth and to Spirit.

Why am I telling you this? So that I can set the stage for what came next. After reading the article, I decided to take my daily walk outside. As there have been many days recently when it has been dangerously cold or blowing like a blizzard which pretty much cancelled the idea of a walk, I tend to take every opportunity to get outside even if it means five minutes of layering clothes to do it. As I stepped out the door and stood in the sunshine for a moment, the article came back to tickle my brain. I thought about how sad it was that I would have to wait weeks and weeks to be able to take my shoes off and walk on the grass, absorbing the earth's love and energy - unless, of course, I had an intense desire to experience frostbite and possibly freezing my feet to the ground. I started to walk down the driveway towards a stand of spruce trees when I saw something dark on the snow. At first I thought maybe it was an oil stain or something from a vehicle that had parked there, but no vehicles had come up the driveway that day. As I got closer, I realized that it was a circle of about two feet in diameter of ... blacktop. It was the first time I had seen the actual driveway in over a month, and even though it was not really the ground as described in the article, I stepped into that circle, faced the sun and sucked it all in gratefully. It was't perfect, but it was my piece of the action and I was claiming it.

Sometimes we have to make the best we can out of a less than perfect situation. Instead of sitting in the house moaning and groaning about the weather (it is, after all, still winter, and yes, I realize I was the one doing the moaning last week), I kept to my practice of getting out there and connecting even if it was only with the snow and the sky. My reward for remembering that I am just one part of a huge, giving and connected world, was a piece of the ground that I could claim for my own. Even though it was not grass, or even dirt for that matter, I received just as many benefits as if it had been June. I felt that I was, at last, on solid ground, that it really was still there all evidence to the contrary, and as the sun warmed my face and the ground beneath me, I felt my connection to it all. If you stay with your head buried underground like an ostrich, you're going to miss all the good stuff.

So this morning I looked outside and, yes, it is snowing again, and, no, my piece of ground is no longer poking up through the snow, but I know it's out there. I know the exact spot where it is, and when it stops snowing, I'm going to go find it, shovel it out, and stand in it; because that's my piece of the action, and I'm keeping the connection open. Being connected to All That Is, it turns out, is good for my health!

And so it is.