BY NICKY SCOLTOCK
During my daily walk with Asha, my dog, I try to take time to engage in the contemplative practice of Holy Sauntering. I leave my to-lists behind and head out to the shorelines and bush trails near my house. As my senses come alive my busy mind and anxious heart start to settle.
Sauntering is not power-walking.
For me, sauntering describes walking slowly through nature with open eyes, ears and heart. The holy aspect of this sauntering is about recognising that the natural world is imbued with presence - aliveness - and that I can come into relationship with the wild earth, humbly and deliberately.
I’m not walking to get somewhere. I’m wandering with intent - open to encountering the living world around me and to receive it’s gifts.
Each time I do, the wildness of the beach, of the trees, of the water, remind me in an embodied way that I am not alone. I am part of a greater conversation.
I love exploring and immersing myself in new places. But more than anything, I am called to sink my roots deeply into the areas I love and that hold me. The whenua where I live, the familiar places that are part of my daily life all form the basis of my contemplative practices. Familiar but constantly changing and evolving.
I first encountered this way of walking with nature when I was attending the Seminary of the Wild Earth.
Victoria Loorz and Valerie Luna Serrels describe this practice as Terra Divina. These instructions from pg 223 of their Field Guide to Church of the Wild have helped shape the way I practise Holy Sauntering:
Choose a wildish place for your wander, start by pausing, take off your shoes, breathe deep, and pray a blessing over this time.
1. Wander – with full presence, awareness with all of your senses
2. Listen – pause and spend time with a place, tree, stream, rock, that you are drawn to
3. Respond – notice with an open heart, journal, speak, move, respond
4. Release – offer gratitude, breathe deeply
(It’s a wonderful book and is well worth reading. It has been a good friend to me as I have returned to a more grounded spirituality.)
Daily sauntering has given me many gifts of knowing and noticing - joy and wonder, a clear headspace to start the day, the pleasure of returning to familiar trees, an appreciation of simple everyday pleasures.
Each time I head outdoors I am reminded that I am made of earth; my latest artwork collection Earth Meets Sky celebrates this in the texture, colours, and layers encountered.
I am regularly inspired by the late nature poet Mary Oliver - whose poetry expresses the wisdom of her own life-saving relationship with the Sacred Wild.
Sometimes after a saunter my own words bubble up in a poem like the one below.
Belonging
By Nicky Scoltock
Feet on the earth
Wind in my lungs
Rain in my veins
Salt in my tears
Mud and sand in my toes
Shells in my bones
Skin soothed by salty sunlight
Ears filled with music of the birds
Made of earth, wind, salt and sea
There is room for all voices here
No being’s presence is privileged above another
How to begin
Inspired to try the practice of Holy Sauntering for yourself?
I encourage you to give yourself the gift of being; it doesn’t need to be a long wander. No headphones, just wandering; start small, choose a regular time, build the habit slowly. There is no right or wrong way of doing this.
Also, if you are not physically able to wander, try simply being outside or looking out a window or at a photo of a place in nature.
When your mind wanders and you find yourself worrying about things that have happened or thinking about what’s next on your agenda, you may like to bring your awareness back with a simple practice of becoming aware of your five senses:
What are five things you can see?
What are four things you can hear?
What are three things you can feel?
What are two things you can smell?
What is one thing you can taste?
May you discover your own gifts as you take time to simply be and pay attention.
Nicky Scoltock is a contemplative artist, Green Sketching guide and Soul Companion living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Inspired by a deep connection with the Sacred Wild, she explores creativity, grounded spirituality and our relationship with the natural world. You’ll often find her wandering the shorelines and bush trails near home with Asha, her trusty walking companion — or back in the studio making art, with good coffee and her Mary Oliver poetry book close by.