Whispers of New Beginnings in Alaska
There’s a moment each spring in Alaska when the snow finally gives up its hold and the earth exhales. It’s subtle at first. A shift in the light. The soft squish of trail underfoot. Then suddenly, it’s everywhere. Green life, emerging in quiet brilliance.
Just the other day, I was out on a walk, and the forest felt like it was stretching awake all around me. I couldn’t help but pause every few steps to take it in. These signs of spring—delicate, wild, and full of energy—are the very things we connect with during Mindfulness in the Wilderness. Each one offers its own lesson, its own invitation to slow down and tune in.
Devil’s Club: The Forest’s Guardian Wakes
One of the first plants to make a bold entrance is devil’s club. Prickly and powerful, its tightly furled leaves push through the soil like nature’s little fists. This plant has been used for centuries in traditional medicine and teaches us something vital about boundaries and resilience. On my walk, I noticed how even the tiniest shoots stood with purpose. It reminded me how growth often begins with a little push from deep within. (Read more about Devil’s Club)
Fiddleheads: Spirals of Potential
Next, I saw fiddleheads—those tender fern shoots coiled in perfect spirals. They looked like nature’s version of curiosity, slowly stretching toward the sky. These little spirals are a reminder that transformation takes time and that something beautiful often starts in a tightly held form. As I stood still watching them, I thought about how important it is to honor the slow unfolding in our own lives too.
Blueberry Buds: Quiet Anticipation
The wild blueberry bushes were beginning to show tiny pink buds, full of quiet anticipation. Not yet flowering, not yet fruiting, but clearly getting ready. There’s something powerful about this stage of becoming. During our mindfulness walks, we often talk about this idea—what are we nurturing in ourselves that hasn’t fully formed but is getting ready to bloom?
Spruce Tips: The Citrus Kiss of the North
And then I smelled them before I saw them. Spruce tips. Soft and vibrant green, they release a bright, citrusy aroma that feels like a breath of fresh energy. I held one between my fingers, inhaled deeply, and tasted its subtle tang. It was a sensory reset. These tips are more than just seasonal snacks. They’re an invitation to refresh our senses and reconnect with the world around us.
Awaken with the Land
Spring in Alaska doesn’t shout. It whispers. It nudges. It invites. And when we take time to walk with presence through the forest and alongside the ocean’s edge, we begin to remember that we’re part of this beautiful rhythm too.
In Mindfulness in the Wilderness, we don’t just pass through the land. We listen to it. We breathe with it. We let it remind us of what it means to be alive and growing. So come walk with me. Let’s listen together. Let’s notice the devil’s club rising, the fiddleheads curling, the blueberry buds forming, and the spruce tips opening. Let’s awaken with the land.
