The Importance of Place

The importance of place has been on my mind as I’ve more deeply explored the natural surroundings of my new home city. Now that the warm weather has arrived, I’ve been immersing myself in nature in this beautiful coastal city. The weather hasn’t encouraged blogging, as evidenced by the date of the last blog entry here.

For years I’ve had an internal struggle about whether to live close to nature or in a city. My childhood was spent romping around a lake that was surrounded by bald cypress trees. In summer, I was swimming, fishing, reading, and writing, by the lake, and in autumn I was watching the cypress needles turn from green to burnt amber.

The familiar sounds of my childhood included the call of Canada geese, fish jumping out of the water to eat bugs, the songs of tree frogs and bullfrogs, or the coarse croaking call of a great blue heron. Living in that place shaped me. The sights and sounds of the lake provided refuge from a tumultuous atmosphere on the inside of my home. Spending time by the lake brought a sense of ease, peace, and feeling of home.

After spending the years of my young adulthood in Atlanta, I have moved to the North Carolina coast. The sights and sounds of the ocean soothe me. The calls of seagulls are ever present when I walk out of a downtown restaurant, leave the grocery store, or exit the mall, ever reminding me how grateful I feel to live in this port city, how fortunate I feel to live so close to the sights and sounds of nature that always create in me a feeling of being at home.

The dramatic colors of the sky at sunrise and sunset by the ocean soothe me. As I paddle a kayak through the saltwater marshes, the brilliant greens of the marsh grasses contrasted against a brilliant blue sky bring awaken something in me. Watching the full moon rise over the ocean, finding a whelk shell on the beach, or watching sea turtles crawl out of their nest and toward the ocean make my spirit come alive.

The energy of a small and slow city leaves my body feeling calm. A lifestyle built around being close to nature leaves me feeling connected and filled with a sense of belonging to something larger than me. I was born by water, and the longing to be by water will always be a part of me. I feel at home when I am listening to the sounds of the ocean. I feel soothed.

That nature has been so healing for me motivates me to do work in the interest of preserving it. I have created part of my life’s work around environmental education, leading nature journaling workshops and making photographs of nature and sharing them with others in hopes of sparking something the viewer that wants to preserve the beauty of this Earth.

Over the past four months, I have created a body of photographic work of seascapes and have updated my creative website. Take a peek if you have a minute. meditatecreate.com  These months of immersion in meditation on nature and the importance of place has also resulted in a plan for transformation of my work.

Mindful journaling prompt:  How does where you live or spend your time shape who you are and how you live? Write about what the importance of place means to you.

Jen Johnson is a mindfulness teacher, coach, and therapist, and a photographer and writer. She offers an integrative approach to mind body healing and creative awakening.