Send Someone a Valentine

Ah, February.

Valentine’s Day ushers in the season of love. Early as it seems, I’ve heard a few birds out there warming up in the afternoon sun to practice love songs of their own.

But for now, the frozen ground crunches underfoot as my faithful shepherd companion walks at my side along a wooded trail. It’s bitter cold and yet we are both in our happy place. Who knew there were words to describe the feeling that develops after spending time among towering trees? It wasn’t long ago that I first heard the term “forest bathing.”

Published in 2018, “Forest Bathing — How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness,” by Dr. Zing Li, chairman of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine, is credited for popularizing the term.

The concept finds its origins in the therapeutic Japanese practice of “shin-rin-yoku,” which translates literally to forest bathing. The practice continues to gain popularity and is helping to inspire something of a movement for the use of mature forests beyond their common value in lumber.

Simply spending quiet time in a forest has been scientifically proven to deliver health benefits that come with stress reduction like lower blood pressure, lessened anxiety, improved sleep. It’s a practice that promotes a general sense of well-being.

Before the frost, so late to arrive this season, my forest walks included an extended season of fruiting mushrooms in every size, shape and color. There were some I don’t recall seeing in such abundance, and my cloud storage is full of photos attempting to capture it all.

Wintertime inspires a retreat to the cozy indoors, a time for restoration and, in my case, a contemplation of what matters — how we live, who we love, and what brings us joy and satisfaction in daily life.

Friendship ranks very high on my list, as do individual qualities like honesty and integrity, an appreciation of the value of civility, a willingness to listen and to share, an open heart intent on treating others with the same grace and dignity we wish for ourselves and our families.

I close my eyes and smile recalling the power of love, having spent time recently with several different and expanding circles of friends gathered to seek nourishment and comfort. Perhaps it could be attributed to advancing age, but there is a growing sense of urgency to build resilience as we face the pain of loss and grief known to everyone who has ever loved.

I knew none of these people 25 years ago. Every single one I met right here, on the Key Peninsula. Our friendships, some deep and others more casual, all formed as the direct result of having participated in local activities.

Together we volunteered to put on big, splashy events to raise money to maintain our essential public gathering places like the KP Civic Center and the Longbranch Improvement Club. We’ve made farm tours and fiber art shows, music festivals, huge logging shows, and an endless array of fun events that put the KP on the map for outsiders.

One of my very favorites to this day was the costumed croquet tournament where bribing judges to raise money for a good cause made for a hysterical and profitable day of fun. From book clubs and roving gangs of golfers to knitting and quilting circles, we came to know each other by participating in activities.

As an American citizen, I admit I’ve taken my rights, privileges and freedoms guaranteed under the United States Constitution for granted as if each one possessed the undeniable forces that govern the laws of nature. Yet, like so many other Americans, I’ve barely considered the degree of autonomy I’ve enjoyed making my own choices in my lifetime. It’s all many of us have ever known.

I naively believed and clung to my childlike view that everyone understood America was a nation of immigrants initially seeking freedom of religion and to escape the tyranny of despots.

We may not like or appreciate the governance we had in the past any more or less than the current one. But times have changed.

Governance is hard but often seems simple to the casual observer because we don’t know what we don’t know.

But we have had the right to choose, to make decisions for ourselves, how we worship, whether to own or carry firearms or speak freely without fear of adverse consequences, or imprisonment.

Back in grade school, I remember filling out Valentine’s cards at home to exchange with my classmates. I asked my mom if I had to give one to a kid I didn’t like. You can guess the answer.

The adage that “love is blind” is true on many levels. Hate is blind too.

Send someone a Valentine.

“Hair ice” is somewhat rare occurrence that forms on dead wood when temperatures dip into freezing.

Anna Brones