The Sit Spot Interviews Part II: Ellington
On an early, misty, chilly September morning Ellington joined me for a shared sit spot at Browning Beaver Meadow. As a nature photographer and landscape painter she was practiced in seeing details and vistas. As an acupuncturist she understood the natural waves and energies of healing. As a long time practitioner of yoga and meditation she knew about mindfulness. And as an avid hiker she enjoyed the outdoors. And, most importantly she volunteered to join me
All of these reasons suggested that she was a good candidate for a sit spot. But, when you ask someone to get up at 5 a.m., drive 30 minutes in the dark, trudge 15 minutes down a root covered trail, and sit for an hour in the morning chill, you never know how it might turn out.
In our case it turned out well and confirmed my hope that others can get as much from the sit spot experience as I did. Our written reflections and photos from this shared sit spot were posted in a blog on October 5, 2022 entitled “September Sunrise.” Here is the link: https://foreststillness.com/2022/10/05/a-shared-sit-spot-for-september-sunrise/
Several months later I had reasons to conduct a follow up interview with Ellington. While researching and writing a follow up book to Forest Stillness I learned more about how time in nature can lead to moments of mindfulness, initiate psychotherapeutic insights, and create behavior change. I wanted to find out if any of these effects had occurred with Ellington. Below are her responses to my interview questions.
Interview with Ellington
As you look back on our shared sit spot do you have any general thoughts to share?
It was life changing for me. It brought all that I love in life forward. It was as if the windshield wipers of my consciousness had been turned on. I suddenly had a much clearer view of my life now and of important events from my past. I felt simultaneously peaceful about the present and excited about the future.
What motivated you to do a sit spot?
I read your book and have followed your blog posts through the years. I said to myself, “I want to do that.”
But a number of factors held me back. I knew I couldn’t commit to going out every week on a regular schedule. I knew I couldn’t tolerate sitting out in the cold. And usually, when I’m out in nature, I’m on the move walking or even driving through the countryside so I didn’t know if I could just sit still. I was happy and relieved when you invited me to go on a sit spot.
What were your impressions and reactions while doing the sit spot?
At the beginning I was worried if I was going to do the sit spot in the right way. Then I got all wrapped up in making sure my seat was in the just the right place to see the sunrise. And I had to make sure that my camp stool was stable on the ground. So, I was preoccupied and flustered at the beginning.
But I quickly settled in. I was surprised at how easy it was to sit still and observe. I think I was able to describe my ongoing impressions from the hour in my written contributions to our blog.
Was the experience different than you thought it might be?
When I was a young child I used to lie down on the grass and look up at the clouds and imagine that I could travel on the clouds. I used to gaze at the trees and see them almost as living people. I saw life and movement in the flowers and bushes. I understood where the world of forest elves and woodland fairies came from. Nature was a magical world that filled my heart and activated my imagination.
But, whenever I tried to share this world my family members would make fun of it and say that I was crazy. So I shut these dimensions of my perception down and locked them away. Then during the sit spot as I gazed at the mist and began to see ballroom dancers swirling over a luxurious dance floor my old childhood way of perceiving came back to me.
At first I felt a tinge of sadness and feelings of loss for having sequestered that part of myself for so many years. But those feelings passed quickly and were replaced by a sense of reintegration, a sense of strength from reuniting with my imagination and reconnecting with the world of enchantment.
What were your reactions, thoughts, or reflections after doing the sit spot?
I didn’t want to leave when our hour was up. I sensed that something important was happening for me. After we walked back to our cars I continued on to the observation deck where I could look across the lake at the location of our sit spot, see it from a different perspective, and allow the experience to settle.
There have been two important strands that have nurtured in my life. One has been my love of nature, art, and music. I hike, I paint, and I listen to music that touches my soul. The other strand has been my daily practice of meditation which I have done for more than 25 years, formal meditation, sitting, breathing exercises, eyes closed, and deep focus inward.
As I sat on the observation deck and took in the view I realized that these two strands, nature and meditation, had somehow been braided together during the sit spot. Sitting still and watching and listening to nature I achieved a state of mindfulness similar to what occurs during a good meditation session. The two strands merged like small tributaries forming a larger river. This deeper, stronger river strong now is a source of strength and energy for me.
Have your thoughts about the sit spot changed or developed over time?
My dad had books about nature that contained beautiful illustrations. As I child I enjoyed paging through these books and looking at the illustrations. I wondered how anyone could ever capture the beauty of nature so accurately. I think that is when an interest, perhaps even a passion for doing landscape paintings was planted within me.
Trying to fulfill this interest has frankly been a rocky road filled with a lot of potholes and disappointments. I began drawing when I was 4 years old. My parents entered my sketches at the county fair where I won blue ribbons and received a lot of praise from grownups. I kept drawing and winning ribbons, but at some point I realized that I was drawing for others and wasn’t true to myself.
When I got to college and studied art no one was very interested in landscape painting so I didn’t receive much encouragement. At some point I felt that painting wasn’t working out, decided that I wasn’t that good at it, and gave it up completely. But to keep myself in the visual game I took up photography, initially portraits of poets I was hanging around with in New York City at the time. Later I gravitated back to nature or landscape photography.
A few years ago, on a lark I took a painting course on my old love, landscape painting. This teacher instructed us to go out and take photos, good photos that captured light and texture and then paint the scene. This felt like a good fit for me. I did it and created some paintings that people raved about, but I still felt that something was missing especially when I would compare my work to a landscape master like George Inness, I could see that there was something lacking.
Then, as I reflected back and thought about our sit spot at Browning Beaver Meadow I found the missing key. It was memory! There was something about sitting still, letting my vision deepen, seeing layers and levels of flowers and bushes and trees, seeing the complexity, depth, nuances and changes of light that allowed the whole scene to sink deeply in memory.
I had been running around taking pictures on the move while walking and even stopping the car and jumping out to shoot a few quick photos. I had good pictures but I didn’t have a good memory for the scene. Now I know that I need a full and complete memory of a scene to be able to paint a true landscape. I also know that I can create this memory by doing a sit spot.
I’ve realized that although our sit spot seemed full and complete that really it was just a first step for me.
Did the sit spot experience change you in any ways? If so, in what ways?
The experience has brought me closer to who I am and who I want to be.
Have you done any subsequent sit spots on your own or done any variations that you created?
I’ve tried a few. I did one at a nature reserve and another at a nearby park. But they didn’t go that well. There were the sounds of traffic and the distraction and interruption of people walking around. I didn’t get the same depth of experience.
Then I thought about my neighbors across the street whose house is situated on the bank of Dyberry Creek. I’ve kept an eye on their house when they were on vacation so they were more than willing to let me traipse through their yard, climb down the bank and sit amidst the trees and shrubs.
I found a flat rock where I could set up my chair. It’s a place where I feel completely safe and it only takes my about five minutes to walk there. I go often, sometimes twice on the same day. I take my notebook. I don’t do the ten minute circles. I just write a few words to capture an impression or write a line of poetry to record a feeling or insight.
My experiences at this sit spot have been remarkable. The first thing I discovered is that a riverbank, even in a town, is filled with life. I have seen weasels, raccoons, rabbits, opossums, a few skunks, and lots of fish swirling and jumping in the river.
Gradually I seem to have succeeded in blending in and becoming part of the “baseline” of the river bank community. At first when the mallards were paddling downstream and spotted me they would jump up, fly by, and land downstream. Slowly they began to feel safe enough to swim by me. Recently they have swum up the shoreline right in front of me, emerged from the water, waddled around the bank, fed and rested. I have been able to see inside the life of ducks. It feels almost like they have accepted me and wanted to teach me about their life.
From my sit spot I also have a good open view upstream and have learned how this view changes from day to day and even hour to hour. I’ve noticed how the light, the reflections off the water, the colors of the river , the shapes and shades of the tree leaves, trunks and branches all change, all have many facets. Little by little I’m getting to know the spirit of the place.
Do you have any other thoughts, impressions, reflections or recommendations to share?
I would say be inquisitive. Be open. Give it a try. Maybe start by going with John or someone else that has experience. And then put your own stamp on it. And then find your own sit spot location.
You can read about more sit spots and wander walks on this blog and in my book The Stillness of the Living Forest: A Year of Listening and Learning available on Amazon and through Shanti Arts Publishing.
The Stillness of the Living Forest, John Harvey (shantiarts.co)
And stay tuned for my next book, Pathways to Nature Mindfulness due out in the fall of 2024.