By Megan-Mack Nicholson

Guest Columnist

I’m a lover of winter. A lover of all the seasons, really. It would be hard for me to pick a favorite season other than the season I’m in at any given moment.

The symphony of peepers and still canoeing waters of spring as you watch the water birds return home and that vibrant new-leaf green color paints the hills.

The long days of summer allow for all the play, the warmth on your skin, the gentle breezes at night, and hours upon hours of swimming.

The crisp mornings of Autumn, the brilliant Northeast fall foliage, the first lighting of the woodstove.

Maybe it’s because we are currently in winter and I’m absolutely in awe of its beauty every day, but I’m the closest I’ve ever been to saying that winter is my favorite season. I mean, if I had to, of course. Having the unbelievable fortune of splitting my time between Bath and Eustis, I do however have to acknowledge that our seasons are changing. It seems no matter where I go people are talking about how “it’s not like it used to be…” Change is our only constant, isn’t that what they say? Isn’t that what we already know to be true? Isn’t that what gives us perspective on life and assists in creating wisdom in our later years?

The other day, I heard a quote that’s been rattling in my brain and heart. It went something like this: “Everything we touch, we change, and everything we change, changes us.” Being a nature enthusiast, as a young girl, and now a woman who would rather take in the fresh air than anything else, this quote gives my life trajectory a whole new lens. Globally, our environments are changing and I am certainly not void of guilt for the ways I have changed my surrounding environments. On the other hand, what if every time I experienced the awe, wonder and joy of a new season, it imprinted more awe, wonder and joy for the next? And what if all that appreciation and imprinting ultimately led me to be an outdoor educator and guide? No matter what, the best part about that quote is thinking that every time I interact with love toward nature, and a student is watching, they too can’t help but be changed. So, everything I touch, I change — “good” or “bad,” and everything I change, changes me — for “better” or “worse.”

If we thought about it, it would probably be impossible to count the number of changes we have had throughout our lives. I think we could all agree that some changes we initiated, some we felt happened TO us and most were just inevitable. I want to remember this quote — this concept — to guide me toward being kinder to myself and to take more responsibility for how I affect others. I find it so interesting to acknowledge the parts of me that want and embrace change while also acknowledging the parts of me that inwardly want to battle or ignore the changing. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could gracefully, excitedly and with great anticipation step into all changes as I do the next season on the calendar?

Megan-Mack Nicholson is a registered Maine Guide, Shamanic-Reiki Practitioner, certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide and runs an Outdoor Leadership school in northern Maine. You can contact her at www.holonhealingme.com