Apparently I Just Needed Some Grass
There’s something about methodically walking through an open field in the wet grass that is incredibly calming to my nervous system.
Maybe it’s because I’m walking in actual grass. Maybe it’s because I’m surrounded by trees. Let’s face it, not that many trees compared to where I grew up in the Seattle area, but at least I found a park that has real grass and some real, big trees.
My mom laughs when I tell her this is my version of getting into nature these days. It’s definitely the one thing I long for and have missed so deeply living in LA. Trees. And for some god-awful reason, a few years ago I decided to pull up all the grass in my front yard and replace it with artificial grass. It looks beautiful. It’s easy to maintain. It’s drought friendly. And I managed to remove another small piece of actual earth from my life. Lol. I still stand on the fake grass in my yard sometimes and envision my roots growing deep into the Earth. Not the same at all as real grass. But something.
As I walk back and forth methodically through this open field, I notice that something about the unevenness of the ground actually makes me feel incredibly steady. My feet and legs have to continually adjust to the little bumps and dips and different textures underneath me. I can feel the strength and steadiness in my physical body as it adapts. Maybe steadiness isn’t everything underneath me being perfectly even. Maybe it’s feeling that my body knows how to adjust to whatever is underneath me.
There’s something about the back-and-forth movement of walking that settles me too.
My breath gets slower. My body feels more grounded. I notice the strength and steadiness of the trees around me and somehow I can feel a little of that in myself. Nothing profound is happening. I’m literally just walking around a field.
No one else here knows what I’m doing. I probably look like a weirdo methodically wandering back and forth across the park, but in a determined kind of way. I’m also trying to get some steps in and move my body, all while noticing the wet grass, the trees, my breath, and the enormous smile on my pup’s face as she trots alongside me.
It’s the very, very simple things, especially living in what feels like such a busy city to me, that bring me so much peace and joy. Wet grass. Big trees. My feet on uneven ground. My dog running around ridiculously happy.
There are even dragonflies out today. And I’ve never seen a bigger smile on my pup’s face.
That makes two of us.
If this resonated, I recorded a video this week that lets you take a version of this walk with me — a gentle somatic walking meditation you can do anywhere. You're always welcome to watch it here.
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