A Moment of Deep Connection with a Stranger

By: Maggie Marshall | Posted in: Connection with Nature, Connection with Self, Grief Emotions | Sunday, Oct 1, 2017 - 4:16pm

I miss everybody.  Do you?  I miss deep connection with loved ones.  Most of my relatives are dead.  I do not look forward to when my friends will follow that path, if I don’t go first.

With my restlessness, the other day, I went for a walk in the woods, to talk to a few of my favorite trees and see what messages I might receive.  It would bring a sense of connection, with nature, with other realms, whether I heard “words” or not.

As I was leaving I came across a man just sitting on his bicycle on the path.  We started to talk and he told me how he rides his bike a long distance from work to home.

So I say, “So you’re just resting now?” And he says, “Yes, and thinking about my dead friends.” And I say, “Me too, I’ve been thinking about my relatives and when I will start losing friends too.” And he says, “It’s amazing what we think of when we are alone.”  And I say, “Yes, and this is a good place to do it (in nature).” And we part ways.

As I left, I thought about what a moment of connection that was, to talk with a stranger in the woods about deep feelings. Just out of the blue, when we were both feeling sadness.  This could never be planned, and it was not a usual casual conversation in our society.

But it is part of our true nature. To connect with each other, face-to-face, to express our deep selves.  I felt like that man was waiting for me on that path, and we gave each other some comfort.  Some power brought us together for that brief moment.

And did being in the forest facilitate this meeting? Does nature help us remember who we really are? Yes, I think so. We would not have had this conversation in a mall.

Have you had experiences like this?  Do you feel that nature facilitates a more authentic connection with each other and ourselves? I’d love to hear from you.