Grow well, grow well

3 min read

It was a Sunday morning, and we were at Bidadari Park. I was holding a forest therapy walk for a group, and we were about to reach the end of the session. 

I offered the final invitation to send blessings back to the forest as we make our way out, as our way of showing gratitude for all the peace and joy we have received from the forest. Invitations are open-ended, and everyone can choose to do so in their own unique ways. 

What felt right for me in the moment was to offer my presence to every plant I passed, sending love and warmth through my eyes, smiles and touch. The words came to heart - “grow well!”. I sent these blessings out with every look and touch, wishing that the plants continue to grow well, to beautify and feed this living world. 

Soon, I started to notice the koel bird calls in the background. The same bird calls that locals lament about for waking them up too early, “uwueell, uwuelll”. Strangely, the sound matched exactly the words that were holding in my heart, “Grow well, grow well!”. 

Were the koels the original cheerleaders of the forest all this while?

Were they singing to the plants their blessings, urging them every morning to spring into action upon the first sun? 

The thought that every song in the forest is appreciated and needed felt deeply beautiful.

And perhaps, the songs of humans are missed as well.

The passing humans with their chatters and laughters - could they be sounds that the birds need, to learn a new variation for their next song? 

Or the spontaneous rubbing of human skin against the plants and carrying parts of it, is that an answer to a flower’s wish to seed? 

Or are the unassuming tramples of our feet against the forest floor a scratch to soothe the itch of a tree from the overgrown weeds? 

The forest did not evolve on its own. It evolved with humans in it. We were all part of what shaped the forest as it is today, as notes interweaved in a large chorus. We are part of an ecosystem where each has a role to play.

Coming back to the forest is a noble and necessary act, to place us back in the web of life, to engage in spontaneity, and to fulfil a role uninstructed yet already written. 

This is why we are biologically wired to need the forest. We depend on its oxygen for breath, we require its microbiomes for immunity, and we need its greens and blues for sanity. 

Doing any activities in nature will always be good for you. You can take walks, jog, do yoga and have picnics in the parks. Yet, they are different from actively participating in the web of life, which allows you to derive emotional and mental benefits.

Forest therapy brings you into a sensory experience of the living world by being present and fully awake in your senses. You notice how every individual being of the forest plays its part, how they interact and respond to each other. With every step you take, your interaction becomes part of the forest, and you observe how you relate to the forest and how it responds to you.

Only through our harmless touch, the loving look of our eyes, or the accidental act of saving, may we begin to realise how important we are to the forest. This love and responsibility we carry for the natural world is what can save it from further destruction.

I hope that at the right time, the door to your heart opens to the huge family of nature kin awaiting your return. 

Till then, I wish you grow well, grow well.