Ten years ago at a standing room only”Family to Family” caregivers class, an elderly silver haired class act of a man stood before us in tears. “You are a hero, each and everyone of you are heroes!” he said. The gentleman told us, for 30 years, he had fought verbally and sometimes physically with his bipolar son. He attended a National Alliance for the Mentally Ill or (NAMI), Family to Family course and the information he received changed his life. He told us not to take mental illness personally, it was just that an illness and life could get better for everyone involved. He was right, it can and life has gotten better, but yet the challenges of a seriously long term illness can become overwhelming. Out of sheer necessity, I started a “Nature Therapy,” program organizing my care giving life so that I can spend quality time at Rainbow Springs State Park which is close by our home. In my mind, I am going to church and to the gym at the same time, immersing myself in God’s creation. I direct my attention to the nature around me, using my five senses. I can hear the sounds of the sixty foot waterfall before I can see it. Feeling the moisture on my skin, tasting the water in the air, smelling the greenery and touching the coolness of the rocks and plants. My mind becomes settled and my body becomes alive. It is not surprising that when water is involved in “Nature Therapy” that every scientific indicator of positive effect is increased, which brings me to the, ”Sweet Jesus Moment.” Doing Tai Chi movements while standing on a stack of ancient limestone rocks in the head spring, that produces 400 million gallons of 72 degree crystal clear fresh water a day, it envelopes my senses with it’s energy, clearing my head and making me feel like I’m in a, “Garden of Eden. ”Yes, most definitely a “Sweet Jesus Moment,” followed by a very peaceful, very sincere, “Thank You, GOD.”
URA Hero is what the older silver haired, class act of a man was all about. Our tool is focused on the proven healing powers of nature. As Jimmy Buffet once said “If it worked for me, maybe it will work for you”.
