For much of my life, I believed that wisdom came from somewhere outside of me. I searched for it in books, in teachers, in sermons, and in people I admired. I prayed, hoping that somewhere above the clouds there was a God who would eventually tell me what to do. That understanding gave me comfort for many years, and it shaped an important part of my journey.
But over time, something began to change.
It didn't happen in a church or during a conference. It happened quietly, while walking through forests, sitting beside rivers, and spending long hours in nature. The more time I spent there, the less I felt like I was searching for God somewhere far away. Instead, I began to experience the sacred as something much closer - something alive within me, within the trees, within the wind, within every living thing.
I no longer feel that I have to chase a God who is distant from me. Instead, I feel invited to return to my source.
I experience that source in silence, in presence, in nature, and in the quiet wisdom that emerges when my mind finally settles. Some people call it God. Others call it Spirit, higher consciousness, or simply presence. The name matters less to me than the experience itself.
The forest has become one of my greatest teachers. It asks nothing of me. It doesn't expect me to perform, achieve, or prove my worth. It simply invites me to be present. As I walk beneath the trees, I notice that my thoughts slow down. My breathing deepens. The endless noise of the world begins to fade, and in its place I hear something I had ignored for years - my own inner wisdom.
I've come to believe that inner wisdom is not about having all the answers. It's about remembering that we are already deeply connected - to ourselves, to one another, and to the living world around us. When I lose that connection, I become anxious and uncertain. When I return to it, I find clarity, not because every question has been answered, but because I no longer feel alone in asking them.
This journey hasn't been about leaving faith behind. It has been about discovering it in places I never expected. Today, I find the sacred not only in prayer but in birdsong, in the rhythm of my breath, in the feeling of bare feet on the earth, and in the quiet knowing that rises within me when I stop trying so hard to find answers outside myself.
Nature hasn't replaced my spirituality. It has deepened it.
It has reminded me that perhaps wisdom was never something I needed to chase. Perhaps it was always waiting for me to become still enough to hear it.
If this resonates, or if you are on your own journey back to your inner voice, I would love to connect.
Connect with NunaNuna Gleason · Nuna Cultural Consulting · Rooted in nature. Grounded in culture. Here to heal.
