It’s hard to grow up without a father. There’s something brave about a man that loves his children yet, I never had that. Throughout my life I had to parent myself on boys, love, life, and masculinity. I had a lot of hurt to deal with, including the feeling of never being good enough. Luckily, I was able to experience how nature restores my fatherless life. We might not always realize it, but nature brings healing to people like me and here’s why:
I’m Her to Guide you
A lot of time I felt lost and I couldn’t turn to an adult to know what is right and wrong. I learned to observe how nature works and I realized that nature is a patient teacher. It doesn’t reprimand you; it teaches you through real experiences without fancy words. It lets you experience reality as it is, without judgement or assumptions.
When I feel lost, I find examples of how nature sees the world. For example, even though the ants are annoying when they eat my food, they are also a symbol of how nature doesn’t waste food. This way I am reminded to be appreciative of what I have.
I’m Here to Provide for You
Without my father, my mother always worried about how to provide for us. There’s always a feeling of uncertainty about the future. Now that I am farming with my husband, nature gives me food. We work with nature and in the end, he provides me enough to sustain myself and my family. I don’t have to worry too much about the future because I know nature is there to offer me food. This is how nature restores my fatherless life.
I’m here to Protect you
Nature protects me in so many hidden ways. The trees protect me with the rays of the sun. The mountain protects my house from the wind. The grass sucks all the slippery mud from our pathways. The Corals protects me from being overthrown by the waves.
When I saw nature this way, I was so overwhelmed with appreciation and I feel unconditionally loved. I felt that nature is looking over me.
I’m Here to Cover You with Love
Nature takes care of me with gentleness. When I’m stressed, it brings me to the sea. It takes me to the ups and downs of the mountain when I’m excited. When I need to be hugged, it covers me with the warmth of the sun. When I need to smile, it makes me laugh through simple coincidences and spontaneity.
I’m Here to Teach You How to Let Go
The biggest lesson a child will have to learn in life is to let go. Remember when your dad told you he won’t be in your class in your first day, and you cried because you’ll miss him? Well, that’s your first lesson of letting go.
Nature teaches me to let go. When my husband and I thought of growing a lotus flower I was very excited. I wanted to be involved in every stage, but it turns out the lotus flower can take care of itself.
The lotus flower bloomed because I didn’t interfere with its growth. The beautiful white flower told me to let go of my worries; to let go of my need for control.
The lotus flower in our farm. Picture taken by Isobelle.
I’m Here to Accept You Even When You’ve Made A Mistake
Nature does not judge you when you make a mistake. Yes, you will have to reap what you sow, but you are also given the chance to start again just as a new generation of plants can become more resistant to diseases or the birth of different varieties of seeds from a mother tree may become better when they are full grown. Nature is not like the human psyche; it doesn’t think of you as evil if you failed.
It sees you as you are in the present. I feel free when I am in nature because I know that it doesn’t hold grudges on me, it allows me to grow.
Some people think that nature is just mountains and lakes, but nature is more than that. It’s the dialogue of existence; of how each life connects with each other. Through nature I am able to say I’m slowly feeling less broken and this is how nature restores my fatherless life.
