Lessons from the ground
Making an impact doesn’t always mean doing something big sometimes it starts with simply opening our hearts to one another and to the world around us. Love is the answer. Peace is the answer. Kindness is the answer. Unity is what brings us closer to a healthier, more hopeful world.
I like to think about the small things that go a long way like how fresh the air feels walking through the redwoods, greeting a stranger on a trail, or enjoying a warm cup of tea in the morning light. I’ve learned that peace isn’t something that suddenly appears; it’s something we choose every day. It’s found in slowing down, in breathing deeply, in grounding yourself where your feet touch the Earth. It’s in the way you tend to your inner garden with patience, care, and softness.
Nature has this way of reminding us how to live. Trees teach us to stay rooted but still reach for the light. Rivers remind us to keep moving, even when the path bends and changes shape. Mountains show us the strength that comes from stillness, while the ocean teaches surrender that we can’t control every wave, but we can learn to flow with them. Even the smallest wildflower shows us resilience, blooming through cracks in the pavement as if to say, “You can still grow here.”
When I start to feel overwhelmed by the world, I find peace in returning to what’s right in front of me the soil, the sky, my breath, my community. These things bring me back to myself.
As I finish my degree in Environmental Science, I feel such deep gratitude for this planet. The more I learn, the more I see that every part of life forests, rivers, animals, even us is connected. Life doesn’t exist in isolation; it’s one big, breathing web of relationships.
The Earth is always teaching us balance. It shows us that healing doesn’t happen overnight, that growth takes time, and that cycles of change are natural.
Maybe that’s the lesson peace isn’t something to chase, it’s something to remember. It’s already here, in the rhythm of the Earth, waiting for us to listen.
When we protect what’s within us, we protect what’s around us too.
