I don’t believe in coincidences; I believe in synchronicities. It was no accident that a few weeks ago I came across a social media post for a retreat and immediately knew that I had to attend. Last week, I packed my bags and made the journey to Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat Center, a ministry of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, located in eastern Iowa for Stepping Slowly into the Great Conversation: A Nature Therapy and Creativity Retreat. The day was filled with forest bathing, prairie wandering, making art, and connecting with creation.
For me, the highlight of the day was the morning hike through the prairie. To say we lucked out on weather is an understatement: Idyllic clouds floated across a piercing blue sky, while the sun shined bright with a pleasant breeze, while also having good air quality to breathe in the wonder of it all. To have this intentional time with the natural world felt like a sweet escape from the everyday. I found my interactions with nature to feel quite intimate: Watching the infinity of circular ripples in a pond, rolling a stalk of prairie grass between my thumb and index finger, stooping low to the ground to see eye to eye with a bumblebee… As I meandered ever so slowly through the prairie, it made me realize the breakneck pace at which the rest of our world moves, how quickly I typically move, and just how rarely all of us slow down.
When we intentionally slow down, we become more aware of all that is going on around us; we come to realize that the natural world is a sensual wonderland. At first glance, it seems as though the natural world is simplistic. It is when we open our eyes, crouch low to the ground, and step slowly that we come to understand that the natural world is abundant with life; a pulsating symphony of ecosystems; a gateway to the divine.
As someone who utilizes Tarot cards as a spiritual practice, I could not help but think about one specific card throughout the entirety of the retreat, a card that has recently come up for me in my personal practice: The Ten of Pentacles. The Ten of Pentacles is a very special card within the Tarot that carries a lot of meaning. In a nutshell, the card represents seeing the magic in the mundane of life. This was one of the many beautiful gifts the prairie gave to me that day: The reminder that the divine is all around us; sometimes we just have to slow down to see it.
During the retreat, we were given designated creativity time in response to our wandering in the prairie. Collaging is something I am particularly passionate about, so I was sure to bring some materials with me. It wasn’t until I was immersed in the prairie though that I knew exactly what I would collage. During our meander, I collected various trinkets including feathers, leaves, and thistles and paired them with words that came to me over the course of the day, all of which connect back to the magic of the mundane (located in the center of the collage) and the symbolism of Pentacles (represented by the golden coins running along the bottom of the collage).
It is my hope that you too can make time to step slowly in our ever-speeding world. For it is when we slow down that we can appreciate the mystery in the ordinary. Stop for a moment; take a look around; marvel at the wonder of it all.