A woman from work invited me to join her on a hike one morning. I excitedly agreed, being in nature is one of my favorite past times. When the day came, I had had an encounter with a close friend that left me devastated. When trying to cancel she convinced me to try and make it, and so I did.

I preceded to have one of the most mothering experiences of my life.

After chasing her up and down the mountain, referring to her as a “forest nymph”, we finally stopped to catch our breath. She told me, “Don’t worry about the past just be here in the moment.” A reminder I didn’t realize I needed. Her calm and grounding energy brought me out of my head, and I felt as if I could see outside myself for once.

Upon entering her home post trek, I saw an elderly woman kneeling over a large industrious cooking pot, the food smelled like generations of motherly love.

We sat outside her covered porch overlooking the mountain, and I watched as small creatures flew over her luscious vegetable garden in the back. As we ate cucumbers we talked, and I felt a calming feminine presence wash over me. I thought, “would this be like sitting with my own mother had she been healed?”

When asked, “Would you like to try my mother’s food” from the giant pot out front, the answer was an astounding “YES!” While eating what had been most likely passed down from generations, I could feel the hand of every mother that had come before her make its way into me.

There is a healing nature that can be felt by those who hold pure intentions. These people aren’t seen or heard, they are felt. It’s hard to describe a feeling, yet when you feel it, it speaks to you. And on that warm and sunny afternoon, while being engulfed by motherly love in a time I needed it most, I felt all of it in my soul.