Staying Calm Through Change: I Moved!

In case you haven't heard the news: I moved!

In April of 2024 I moved to Boston, Massachusetts.

Well, technically I moved to East Cambridge, but it's a 20-minute walk into Boston and a 45-minute walk to downtown where all the fun, big-city-stuff happens.

Moving can be stressful.

So I wanted to share a quick and simple practice that has helped me to reground these past few months.

I originally learned this from one of my mentors, Martha Travers, PhD, who learned it from her teacher, Alberto Taxo, an indigenous Shaman who lives in the Andes Mountains -- and whom I had the pleasure of meeting personally when he visited Michigan in 2018.

I have his full permission to share these teachings.  

Perhaps they can help you this summer, too.

This practice can be done anywhere -- during stretch breaks on cross-country moves or road trips, while walking from your car to the grocery store, or from the comfort of your own home or yard.

Practicing mindfulness can be super easy.

Whether you're new, out of practice, or even if you have a regular meditation routine, I have found this to be a simple way to reconnect with calm throughout the day.

It is so easy it takes five minutes.

Here is one of my favorite earth-based contemplative practices to calm your body down while energizing your spirit:

Greet the earth.

Greet the earth just like you would greet a friend.

[Take a breath]

Feel the earth.

Feel the places of contact with your body.

[Take a breath]

Thank the earth.

In your own way, express gratitude to the earth.

You can thank the earth for the food you eat, the clothes on your back, the roof of your home, the peonies in bloom, etc.

[Take a breath]

Try to repeat this cycle of greeting, feeling, and expressing gratitude for the Earth for five minutes (or longer, if you're up for it).

It's a simple practice.

It's also a powerful practice when done consistently.

So start with just five minutes, if you can.

Go outside. Greet, feel, and express gratitude to the Earth.

See what happens!

Left: Me on a hike, after using this practice at Middlesex Fells Reservation just outside of Boston.

Bottom: Another view from the Middlesex Fells Reservation trail.