The Beauty In The Fog

It’s 9:10 pm here in Victoria, BC, and I’ve just come home from walking the dog.  It’s foggy tonight, and has been foggy all day as well. In fact, the fog is so thick in this part of town that I can see maybe 10 feet in front of me, and beyond that, only thick grey mist.  It’s pretty spooky, and for a moment I imagine myself walking in a street in England,  a street out of a Sherlock Holmes movie, of course it had to be the movie about Jack the Ripper – what else could scare me more?  I hurry the dog along.

This dog likes to sniff every other blade of grass, so our walks are always in slow motion.  But tonight, even the dog is nervous, pulling at his leash and hurrying me along, too, which I don’t mind at all!  In the distance, the lonely fog horn moans at regular intervals,   a sound that has always left me feeling lonely and somewhat in awe, as I think of that one lone lighthouse out in the vast blackness of the ocean, protecting both our coast and any boats that might have the misfortune of travelling through the thickness of this night.  The sound adds to the gloom that surrounds us as we walk.

There is no one in the street except us, but I look around nervously expecting to see dark figures dart across the street behind me.  At one point, standing under a tree waiting for the dog, huge drops of water fall down on my head, and I look up.  Is it starting to rain?  Oddly enough, I see stars beyond the mist, and wonder where those drops come from.

We continue walking, and I look up again, through the naked branches of the trees, and see something even more mysterious…and beautiful.  The tree branches are heavy with drops – dew drops from the fog.  And against the lamp these big drops of water glisten like someone had taken the time to attach a multitude of diamonds to the whole tree.  As we keep walking, I notice that every tree has these big drops that glitter against the street lights! For a few moments I forget my nervousness and gaze in wonder at the beauty shining through those trees.  I’ve never seen such a sight!  Who would have thought that these naked, January tree branches could be beautiful?  Not me.  I am once again amazed at the beauty there is all around us, even on a dark and foggy night when no one should be walking in the streets….

But, I was glad to get us inside and turn the locks in the door, shutting out the cold, the dampness, the mystery.   And thanking God for the safety of being inside on this spooky winter night….

“Earthing” The New Term for Walking Barefoot in the Grass

Earlier today, I came across an article about ‘Earthing’ – walking outside in your bare feet.  Yep.  It talked about how as a society we are always inside…and when we do go outside we have shoes on..so we are not connecting with the earth.  It went on to say that the earth gives off good electrons that our body needs….electrons that enable our auto immune system to stay healthy.

Here is an excerpt that I have cut and pasted from Dr. Mercola’s website:

It is known that the Earth maintains a negative electrical potential on its surface. When you are in direct contact with the ground (walking, sitting, or laying down on the earth’s surface) the earth’s electrons are conducted to your body, bringing it to the same electrical potential as the earth. Living in direct contact with the earth grounds your body, inducing favorable physiological and electrophysiological changes that promote optimum health.

There is an emerging science documenting how conductive contact with the Earth, which  is also known as Earthing or grounding, is highly beneficial to your health and completely safe. Earthing appears to minimize the consequences of exposure to potentially disruptive fields like “electromagnetic pollution” or “dirty electricity.”

Some of the recent evidence supporting this approach involves multiple studies documenting Earthing’s improvement in blood viscosity, heart rate variability, inflammation, cortisol dynamics, sleep, autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance, and reduced effects of stress.

The Ultimate Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory

Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one’s bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand or concrete (especially when humid or wet). When you ground to the electron-enriched earth, an improved balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system occurs.

The Earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for proper functioning of immune systems, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms and other physiological processes and may actually be the most effective, essential, least expensive, and easiest to attain antioxidant.

Modern science has thoroughly documented the connection between inflammation and all of the chronic diseases, including the diseases of aging and the aging process itself. It is important to understand that inflammation is a condition that can be reduced or prevented by grounding your body to the Earth, the way virtually all of your ancestors have done for hundreds if not thousands of generations.

There seems to be a whole lot of people realizing the importance of getting back to nature and a previous ‘way of being’…..whether it be via “Earthing”, eating more raw foods, incorporating homemade bone broths into our diets,  eating fermented foods for the nutritional value, even showering in cold water!  I might be nuts, but something about this way of being resonates with me.  Now, I don’t do all of those things, but I have begun to incorporate some of them into my day.  Today, in fact, I walked barefoot at the beach and through the grass in the park nearby.  It was wonderful to feel the sun on my face, the breeze in my hair, see the cloudless blue sky.  Let’s face it…many of us do spend too much time inside!  This has been something I am guilty of…going from home to work to home again…

I’ve made a commitment to myself to re-enter the world of Nature this summer.  To get out of the house as often as I can.  Now, with where I am living, there are a multitude of lovely places to walk, and I’ve been walking a different path every day.

What makes me sad, though, is that we need to be reminded to do things that came naturally to us as children (at least in my generation).  When I was a little girl we spent the whole day outside in the summer..and late into the evening as well.  I remember lying on the grass in the daytime cloud-watching…and in the nighttime, studying the stars in awe.  Fresh air and sunshine were two things we naturally took for granted back then.  It seems that we are a society that is losing this way of living….and all the natural health benefits that went along with it.

When experts are having to write articles about the importance of walking barefoot in the grass….I know there’s something wrong that needs to be put right again….

So…go outside!  Take those shoes off and feel the bare earth beneath your feet!  It’s actually good for you!  🙂