Showered by Nature’s Healing Balm

December 5, 2024

When people report a sense of healing at the foot of a waterfall, they often describe it as feeling embraced by their surroundings, a desire to just burrow into the comforting cloak  of ferns and leaves, to be washed by the swirling waters — to be hugged by all that is nature. Jettisoning the honking horns, the prattle of  social media and other hi-tech nuisances affords, for a moment at least, calmness and  authenticity. 

Try these ideas as you let nature heal you: 

  • Turn your time at the waterfall into a five-sense experience? You might be able to  describe how it looks, sounds and feels but, how does it smell and taste? 
  • What kind of healing can a waterfall provide in the winter? Consider the majestic ice column  most falls sculpt, the ledges festooned with icicles, and the rocks and logs that the mist has  encased in ice. [Waterfalls in winter can be especially dangerous so be careful]. 
  • Track the personality of a waterfall. What does it look like after a Winter snowmelt, a Spring  shower, in the midst of a Summer drought, or decorated with Autumn leaves? How do these  various moods of a falls affect your mood? 
  • How does incense mix with the mist and spray? Let it mingle with and enhance the natural  aromas. 
  • When I want to take a break from my overworked intellect and have a gut-level nature  experience, I take my dog to a falls! My dog sniffs, drinks, licks, rubs, and pokes its nose into  every nook and cranny. On a summer day, without the slightest hesitation, he cools his hot belly in the cool pools. Watch your dog and let it be your “canine catalyst” in fulling soaking in the  sensations. 
  • If you have a disability, you may discover brand-new sensations through waterfall encounters. Think  of how a vision-impaired person might perceive a waterfall. Or, a physically-disabled person could sit perfectly still while the waterfall flows to them? Try blocking out a  sense or two, focusing on one sense at a time. 
  • Some falls produce so much mist that on a hot sunny day they can produce their own rainbow. What could feel more magical than frolicking in a rainbow!
  • Sadly some falls, at certain times of the year, disappear. Only a  dry, mossy cliff may remain. But, don’t give up on them! Their resurrection may be utterly dramatic and astounding! Photograph a “dead” waterfall, then later in its full gushing glory. Show  them side by side to help people understand what rebirth actually looks like. 

Some say that along with thunder and lightning, sunrises and sunsets, and the starry sky,  waterfalls are one of nature’s most miraculous gifts. It is! It’s also a nurturing gift, one that can reach out to you . . . and heal.

Dr. Tom Kopp

Waterfall Wellness Coordinator