THE MINDFUL FAMILY: The Green Man
By Charlton Hall, MMFT, LMFT-I
Have you ever looked at the clouds and seen faces or other images in them? Most children, and many adults, have played this game from time to time, but have you ever stopped to think about why you saw a certain image and not another? There is no real image there in the clouds, so any image you see is a projection of your own mind onto the pattern in the sky. The next time you see an image in the clouds, ask yourself what that image means to you, and what might be going on in your life that would cause you to see that particular image.
The ancient Celts had a legend known as the Green Man. The Green Man was the physical embodiment of nature. They often saw faces in the trees in much the same way that we see faces in the clouds. Of course, there was no real face in the tree. What was at work here was the observer’s own unconscious mind.
When you spend time in nature, notice which things attract your attention. Think about what those things mean to you, and ask yourself why this particular thing should capture your attention at this particular time.
Fairy tales were used in the past, and are sometimes still used today, as teaching tools. These stories often contained moral lessons. Another thing most fairy tales contain is archetypal images and elements of nature. Think of your favorite fairy tale. What are the elements of nature in it? Does the fact that it is your favorite fairy tale have anything to do with those elements of nature?
Are those elements ‘good’ like the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg, or ‘bad,’ like the Big Bad Wolf, or neutral like the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk? What does your fondness for those particular elements of your fairy tale tell you about yourself? Are there any archetypal elements to your story?
Each of us lives in our own personal fairy tale called ‘my life.’ We all have good things that happen to us, and we all have bad things that happen to us. We create our own personal myths by choosing which things to focus on in our own lives. The good news about the myth of our lives is that we are the author. So if we don’t like the way the story is going, we have the power to do a ‘rewrite’ at any time. We can’t always choose the circumstances of our lives, but we can always choose the story we create about those circumstances.
If you go out into the woods and start observing things, you will notice something begin to happen. You will begin to create stories about the events you observe there in the forest. I remember once when I watched a flock of crows defending its turf against a hawk. I had created personalities for each of the crows, and for the hawk. Before I knew it, I had created back story for each of the characters, and dialogue for the major players. I had watched this show for about ten minutes before I realized that the story I had created in my mind told me a lot more about what was going on inside my own head than what was happening with the birds.
The next time you are able to observe nature for a time, pay attention to what sort of stories come to mind. What could it be that your unconscious mind is trying to tell you? Can you see nature as a metaphor for your own inner journey?
Charlton Hall is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Intern and the Director of the Mindful Ecotherapy Organization (www.mindfulecotherapy.org). You may contact him at: chuck@mindfulecotherapy.org.