Ellie Bridges Greenfield is a summer intern at OneGreenThing. A junior at the University of Southern California, Ellie Bridges leans into her Sage Superpower with her first blog of the summer.
Several years ago, during a gap semester before transferring to the University of Southern California, I interned with a conservation non-profit and worked to save up for school. Each day had its own hectic schedule with few breaks, so I needed to be intentional about resting during my off-hours and carving out time to recharge each morning.
One morning, I discovered an activity that would eventually bring me great joy and calm – waking up with the sun. I would set my alarm for around 5 am, then have quiet time and read before going outside and meditating while facing the sun.
Feeling the warmth creep across my skin, I surrendered to being present with nature, filling up my cup before beginning my day. In a social media post about this new addition to my morning routine, I wrote, “For the past two weeks, I have woken up with the sun. Taking this time to center and ground myself, I read while it’s still dark out, then sit outside on my blanket, willing myself to listen to nature wake up and watch the sun begin her ascent. I connect my morning to nature’s, which in return has left me feeling strengthened and inspired by the fact that I am part of nature, too. The beauty of the earth is not only around us but also inside of us.”
After taking the OneGreenThing Service Superpower assessment, I learned that I classified as the “sage,” meaning that I am “focused on the spiritual connection to nature” and “cherish time in nature as part of [my] overall well-being. Gratitude, reflection, mediation, and/or prayer are practices that bring [me] calm, hope, and joy” (One Green Thing). While my schedule no longer allows me to wake up with the sun every morning, I have found new ways to live out the practice of meditating with nature and channeling the “sage” in me. Since that gap semester, I have found that I do not necessarily need to be quietly meditating outdoors to spiritually connect to nature, as thoughtful action is a form of meditation.
When I volunteer at the horse rescue sanctuary near my home every week, take a long walk around the green areas of my neighborhood, or do my morning devotional outside, I have learned that I am still spiritually connecting to nature because I am allowing myself to absorb the energy and peace that I get from just being in nature. I obtain comfort and peace from connecting to the earth, even if that means traveling to the barn each week and spending several hours cleaning up the pasture, where the only music is the sound of the cicadas and the horses calling to one another. There is something about being around nature that fills up my cup and shows me that I crave time in nature because it is part of who I am.
By taking the time to observe the nature around me and interact with different animals and forms of wildlife, I fully embraced that “I am part of nature too.” Just as we spend quality time with the people we love most to deepen the relationship and communicate our love, I spend time in nature because I want to have an active relationship with nature and use quality time as a way for us to get to know one another on a more intimate level.
Further, I want to have a strong relationship with nature because I know that I am part of nature, and nature is part of me. Since I believe that “the beauty of the earth is not only around us but also inside of us,” my relationship with nature reflects my desire to get to know myself better. In other words, my spiritual connection with nature stems from a desire to reflect inwardly to know myself on a deeper level and outwardly to be in stronger communion with the world around me.
However my relationship with nature looks at the time, as the sage, it is part of who I am to be in fellowship with the natural world around me. Just as nature and natural beauty exist around me, they also rest inside of me, pulling me and nature towards one other and uniting us as one.
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