The earth can be a deeply healing resource. Beyond its obvious benefits (providing oxygen and vegetation), its beauty can be a gentle, humbling companion whenever we carry painful questions, uncertainties, and laments that cannot be easily answered. Its colors, sounds, and textures want to dazzle us. Nature also teaches us that there is more to life than the individual moments we are in. It reminds us that life exists in cycles—when things are down, they can go up again. When things die, new things can emerge. When things seem dormant for a time, life starts to blossom again. The earth reminds us how connected we are to all that exists. Nature is one of our oldest friends.
If we let it, the earth is also a reminder that we are never alone. As we read in Scripture, the earth itself groans in anticipation of the promised day of redemption (Rom. 8). The trees and the waters have witnessed pain and destruction since the beginning of time. The trees know what it is to be brutalized, cut down, consumed, and misused. They have been around for unspeakable abuses in American life—trees that have been used as weapons and waters that remember carrying enslaved people across oceans. Their memory holds unfathomable stories. All of creation knows intimately what it is like to carry sorrow.
Because the earth understands, it is able to witness our grief and lament without judgment. Nature is big enough to hold our sorrows. It is unafraid of our anger. It is not overwhelmed by our grief.
There are so many ways to use nature as part of our grieving practices:
- Go for walks and hikes through nature and parks.
- Stargaze.
- Be barefoot outside, lying in the grass or sand and imagining your feelings exiting your body and being released into the earth.
- Spend time by bodies of water. Cry next to bodies of water.
- Garden or plant something new or in remembrance. Dedicate parts of nature to the ones we love.
- Release things into the water in honor of what we have lost (using items that are safe for the planet and non-toxic).
Rev. Brooke Scott is a queer faith leader who is passionate about inclusive, justice-oriented ministry. She is also a licensed social worker (LSW) and part-time therapist. Along with mental health, she has experience in case and crisis management.
She has a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Divinity (M.Div) from Duke University, and a Bachelor of Social Work from Eastern University. Pastor Brooke currently lives in Philadelphia with her partner. While not in church or in therapy sessions, she is an avid reader and a big fan of music, podcasts, and musical theater.
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