It was a breezy Spring day. I roamed around with my lover, surrounded by trees, birds and fresh air. We had been walking for 30 minutes and I felt my heart beat begin to increase. I had taken LSD about an hour prior to this. We were headed to the water fall at the Botanical Gardens. It had pretty much become our backyard. It was one of our favorite places within the entire garden. We walked, we climbed, we laughed and we embraced one another. The fresh air kissed our faces. By the time we had arrived, I felt a weight on my shoulders – A strange sense of heaviness… I was exhausted. It was about 10:30 in the morning and I hadn’t had any breakfast yet. It was obvious that my energy was depleting but I wasn’t fully aware of this since I was simultaneously absorbed into what was going on around me. As I sat on the bench, admiring the water fall, listen to the sounds of nature, observing the tree branches flow to the invisible waves of the wind. Nonetheless, I couldn’t tell what was wrong with me!

After a few minutes of subtle discomfort, my partner handed me a peeled tangerine. As insignificant as this may seem, it was profound for me in many ways. As I began savoring a piece, the flavors bursted in my mouth and body *literally* my senses began to heighten almost instantly and my vision became a lot clearer -it was pure ecstasy- and being on psychedelics really amplified the experience. My gratitude was overflowing. Life was being given to me in that moment and I was swimming in every ounce of it. As I ate more, I felt myself becoming more alive through my mind, body and spirit. It’s a feeling that was truly unexplainable, however it made sense in every way. In that moment, I understood a truth I had never grasped before. A divine connection. A spark. The feedback loop of giving and receiving. The ubiquitous duality that resides in all things. I understood nature in a way I never had before. I felt alive, connected and exactly where I was supposed to be in that moment within this expanding universe. The chirping birds sang as I listened. Through my ears, they fed my heart and soul. I reflected, and as I did, I felt like an animal, in her natural habitat. Before the city, before the artificial noise, before the destruction. This was my home. And in that moment, there was nothing more significant to me – In awe, I realized that eating that tangerine had so much medicine for me to uncover –  This was more than just a nourishing fruit, more than just visiting a waterfall. This was life, passion, purpose, joy and gratitude. I knew I was healing. Nature had kissed me with its Intelligence and I was present to receive it.

written in February 2017

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