Author – Katia Krassas © Copyright -
Please do not copy without written permission from the author.

Dear Urban Sister.

Perhaps today you are feeling pulled in every direction.

The city buzzes. Traffic everywhere. Noise intrudes. Your workplace demands your constant attention, with many time-limited agendas.

Perhaps today you are wondering how you will make it all come together.

Family, responsibility, relationships, household, health, finances are a balancing act.

Perhaps today you are in a quandary for how to find balance. In your busy life you are a master of accomplishment, but somehow running on empty. And so, perhaps you secretly yearn for release from all that calls you.

My Dear Urban Sister.

There are many of us in the same situation. Finding the time to nurture ourselves is an ongoing balancing act. Often our inner world is unmet as we walk our daily path of tending to what our life calls us to. If you are like me, living in the city, you crave time in nature, dreaming of that retreat in the forest or by the sea; time to restore you, calm you , nurture you.

Living in the city means fast access to nature is limited. So how do we still find that time in nature, and how do we restore inner balance, connection?

There are many pockets of nature in the urban environment. I have been making nature dates, mini retreats, walks, by myself, and with friends. We meet for an hour, amble along some unexpected inner urban wilderness, pause in quiet reverence at a beautiful tree, the sound of water moving over rocks, the expanse of sky over earth reflecting the expansion of our own inner realm. Feeling into it, and then… taking flight with the black cockatoos that suddenly soar overhead.

Within the hour, we have surrendered to nature.

We have inadvertently practised mindfulness, meditated, released our tensions into the earth, drawn in fresh energy, and experienced lightness and renewed perspective.

We have talked and connected with each other. Shared our stories, and our wisdom.

Leaving each other, and heading back to our lives, we are sustained, connected to each other, to our earth, each to our own inner realm, with the inspiration to continue on with our daily lives, restored, knowing that self care comes easier when partnering with nature and community.

Urban Earth Walk