Walk on the grass

“The true miracle is not walking on water or walking in air, but simply walking on this earth.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)

Yesterday as I walked across campus, I began to notice the difference in my mood depending on whether I was walking on the grass or on the cement sidewalk.  I noticed that when I walked on the grass, I felt lighter, more at peace, more present, more embracing of myself and of the moment.  When I moved from the grass to the concrete, I felt hurried, isolated, stern, almost retaliatory.  As I began to reflect, I thought how hard and unforgiving the cement is.  It does not yield, does not embrace.  There is no softness.  Then I began to reflect on how much time we spend walking on this hard, unforgiving surface we human beings have created.  So much time.  Walking on the unforgiving ground.  And I began to wonder if we are so hard because the ground we walk on is hard.  If we are so unforgiving because the ground we walk on is unforgiving.  When I walked on the grass I felt more free.  I felt grateful.  I realized how much more I need to walk on the grass - to remind me that I am embraced, accepted.

Walk on the grass.  As often as you can.  Or simply stand on it, and feel the gentle give beneath your feed.  We were not meant to live in a concrete world.  We were meant to live in a world with wind and grass and trees and oceans.  A world that wraps itself around us - contours to our bodies - to our feet - to our souls.  Not a world that slaps hard against us without relationship - a solid, unforgiving world.  Maybe the next time you notice someone who is stern, or angry, or unforgiving, you can invite them to walk on the grass with you, slowly, mindfully.  Maybe literally; maybe figuratively.  Maybe the grace of our presence can also be a soft place for people to step... forgiving, gentle, beautiful.