The Silence and the Noise..

And all of a sudden, *things* are happening again. After a loooong and seemingly endless winter, finally numbers are down, shops and cafes open, and even get togethers with other actual humans is happening. For the most part, I feel the excitement and potentiality in the air. I took my first trip in like a year to the lovely Lana, Südtirol in Northern Italy (and loved it so much I am planning a long weekend retreat there next month - see below). But I am also noticing that stress often accompanies excitement and potentiality.

For instance, if you live in Munich (or maybe even if you don’t), have you noticed how loud the streets have become? The sound is energy, and excitement and enthusiasm is there, but there is also a lot of mindless rushing as I hear people plow through the streets to run to the sun or meet up with their friends. I am amazed at how much of what was “normal” to me before is overwhelming to me now. I feel a bit like I emerged from a 10 day vipassana retreat immersed in silence and can finally register the effect of sounds like e bikes and scooters on the street, kids screaming and playing, people laughing. It was totally normal a year and a half ago, and now I feel my heartbeat raised, my body stiffen and look at the stress on my doggies face and know it’s not just me.

My dog trainer, who is also like a guru to me, pointed out that my dogs anxiety with street sound, activity and noise is just pointing out what we may already know - that in some ways we are living in unnatural ways. We are living in ways that are out of harmony with nature and probably ourselves. Do you feel me, or is it just me?

As a long time city dweller with a grad degree in city planning to boot, I can’t believe I am actually considering either moving away from the center or at least spending more time away from it, but I am. It is this reason I find being in the mountains or by the sea so healing and connecting. I have the feeling my future travel adventures will involve far less restaurant and museum-hopping and shopping and far more away from the buzz.

Forest bathing is a pretty talked about term at this point, but if you haven’t heard of it, it is the Japanese practice of being in nature (forest but other places too) just in order to be - not to run, jog or bike or to go anywhere in particular or do anything in particular, but just to be. It is simply being in nature, connecting with it through our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. They say that by opening our senses in this way bridges the gap between us and the natural world. I believe it because I have experienced it over and over. And need to be reminded over and over to do it. :)

Teachers and coaches teach and coach on the very things they need themselves, so I teach and lead retreats to do the very things I need to remember to do - not just on retreat but also in non-retreat life. Check out my retreats below in the upcoming months. All offer lots of nature connection, local and organic food and of course movement and digital detoxing.