Working with our big feelings and thoughts…
It’s been a wonderful few weeks of beautiful, heart-opening experiences.
Just over two weeks ago, I brought the world of creating ephemeral earth indoors to the volunteer end-of-life doulas of Valley Health System in northern New Jersey. While several of the women initially shared that they were not artistic, by the session’s end, they were surprised and delighted by their beautiful creations. We chose different intentions for our work with fresh-cut flowers and greens and briefly shared our stories.
Then, on Sunday in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC, following my colleague Sarah DeWitt’s beautiful forest-bathing guidance, we used the large open area
near Parking Lot 2 to find spaces that called to us. We had foraged along our walk during forest bath and found more in our respective spaces. We visited everyone’s altars, saw their beauty and learnged about their meaning.
Last Wednesday, women from across the United States gathered to learn about the morning altars practice at the mid-May Evermore workshop. As always, I described the Morning Altars practice, shared photos of some of my altars, and told the intentions, questions, and/or stories behind their creation. It was a solid foundation for the work that we then created. We closed our session with a new understanding of what was on our hearts and in our minds, bearing witness to our own work and others’ creations, taking photos to remember the experience.
This practice immerses us in nature, uses foraged materials and found objects to represent our thoughts, feelings, intentions, and questions. When we make time and space to reflect, create, witness, harvest, and share, it becomes both a deeply personal and a universal experience for participants—it feels like an oasis in our busy lives.
“Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.”
Carl Jung
NB: The May 2026 edition of the AI Practitioner includes my brief article, “The Ripple Effect of Taking Good Care of Me…” if you are interested in the application of Appreciative Inquiry in our everyday lives.
In preparing for a brief vacation, I began reflecting on my great variety of recent experiences. On April 12th, on the way to Hershey, Pennsylvania, I had a playdate with my five-year-old first cousin twice removed. I thought it would be fun to explore a bit of nature with him and perhaps craft impermanent land art sculpture. The weather was glorious! Sunny, warm, gorgeous blue skies as the backdrop for sitting, talking, drawing, exploring, and discovering. With baskets in hand, we gathered up pine cones, fallen branches, seed pods, and observed teeny-tiny bugs. We used our treasures and some shells to make simple land art. Our time together felt comfortable and relaxing.
“feedforward.” I crafted a chart with three simple symbols: a heart, three lightbulbs, and a wavy arrow artfully placed. The students shared what they liked, learned, and/or were taking with them to use in their lives. What a delight to read their answers!
known each other for over twenty years, having worked together for most of that time. She was the director of youth development for the American Management Association, and I frequently served as a speaker. Now we continue speaking at this conference on our own because we so enjoy the students, their energy, and desire to learn, and we adore the setting, and seeing each other.
joined with his wife for our excursion, and experiencing art together was awesome.
Last year, I read Margi Bush’s LinkedIn post announcing her certification in nature journaling, a field adjacent to the ephemeral earth art I create and share with others. I met her in 2020 through her participation in my bikablo trainings. This year, I discovered that Sarah DeWitt, whom I have known for years through the International Forum of Visual Practitioners as a graphic facilitator, is also a Forest Therapy Guide! Upon learning about Sarah’s nature-based coaching and forest bathing workshops, I contacted her out of the blue to suggest exploring a collaboration. I had ideas for developing a half-day retreat together—forest bathing and ephemeral earth art—drawing on our complementary passions, interests, and expertise. It has been a delightful journey since our first conversation—getting to know Sarah in a new way, learning more about forest bathing, and imagining what we could craft for people who love being in and with nature.
I remember one year, at Easter, there was an opportunity to purchase a lily plant in honor of a family member. I bought one for my mom, and it was placed on the dais along with all the other lilies purchased by church members. I thought my mom would like it. (My teen years weren’t the easiest between us.) What I discovered was that lilies were not a symbol of love and beauty to her. They were a reminder of death. Perhaps because they had accompanied the death/burial of one of her parents—at least that’s what I’m guessing. We never actually spoke about it. I believe that she appreciated the gesture. How interesting—the different meanings we held.
Creating ephemeral earth art is a healing modality that facilitates deep connection with nature, grounding me in the present moment. By mindfully arranging natural elements into intricate designs, I engage in a practice that nurtures reflection, meaning-making, and a sense of interconnectedness with the universe, offering emotional and spiritual healing. This act of creation allows me to process what is on my mind and in my heart.
me. The rest of the world falls away for a time. I experience the seven steps of the practice seamlessly:
In this practice, I become immersed in a multi-sensory experience that supports gentle inquiry into my inner landscape and provides opportunities for insights and expression. Over the past year, my subjects of introspection and altar construction have included: Releasing and Readying, Many Conversations/Listening for Other Voices, Becoming/Unfolding, Transforming a Gift, Letting Go, and Crossing a Threshold. My altars are created inside or outside, in 15 minutes or 60, range in materials from all nature-based (branches, leaves, flowers, berries, shells, bark, ashes, and more), to inclusion of my artwork, and art materials, and in sizes that fit in my palm to others with a four-foot diameter.