Healing for Two April Fools

Leafing back in my journal I was surprised to see that it was four weeks ago today that we skied into Bon Echo Provincial Park, then across Mazinaw Lake to the petroglyphs. Could that be true? The month of March may have been the longest of my life, whatever the calendar says about a standard number of days.

We have chosen to get outside as much as possible to keeps the demons of uncertainty and anxiety about COVID-19 at bay, and to a significant degree this has been successful. We have also cycled a number of times, walked often, and paddled as well. Mazinaw may still be ice-bound but soon many more lakes will be accessible.

Yesterday we took advantage of the beauty of the day and drove to Lodge Point in Prince Edward County, part of Sandbanks Provincial Park. We walked the beach for an hour and a half and saw no other human during our wonderful saunter. Then we walked through the trees on the trail at the end of the point and pondered water the colours of the Caribbean. 

We covered nearly eight kilometres and 14,000 steps and other than a handful of people at the parking spot we encountered no one. There was blessed quiet, and I noticed that there weren't even plane contrails in the clear blue sky because airline travel has been curtailed, for the most part. 

There is no mistaking that humanity is in the midst of a global health crisis, a dreaded pandemic. It's difficult not to be mesmerized by the steady diet of dire news. At the the same time many of us are taking the opportunity to connect with the natural world, Creation, as though our souls depended on it.

A few weeks ago I read an essay by Fred Bahnson in Emergence magazine about the about the Christian Church Forests of Ethiopia. He wrote about an elderly woman entering her church forest and making the sign of the cross before bowing reverently. We have made a practice of doing this every time we enter a woods or forested area as an acknowledgement of the gift of trees and the marvelous work of the Creator. It seems awkward at first but now it is simply part of our outings. 

I encourage all of you to get outside, if you are able, and willing to maintain a respectful physical distance from other humans. Even looking out the window at the world around us or opening the door to hear the dawn chorus of birds is worthwhile, if venturing forth is not possible. Enjoy the social intimacy with other creatures. It really is good for the soul. May the God of Creation be with you.