Land rituals to say goodbye, and thank you

On leaving our little cottage in Indiana

Hey there, Soothers! I’m back in Virginia as I write you this from a suburban Starbucks. AJ and I made the drive back from Indiana in 12 hours yesterday and my 43-year-old body is BROKEN. After too many Diet Cokes, two fast food meals and over 10 hours on mid-west interstates, your girl is busted. But glad to be home.

This was our fourth year at the little cottage we rent Augusts on the Tippecanoe River in northwest Indiana, where AJ is from. In the deepest way, the cottage, land, wildlife and river behind it have become absolutely sacred to us and are a huge and meaningful part of our lives.

The first summer we left after spending a month there (this was during the pandemic; part of the reason we rented it is it has a huge outdoor deck so we could see AJ’s family at that time) I was surprised to find myself, on the morning we drove away, breaking down in tears as we closed up.

I was grieving, and it surprised me.

It was just a house. An Airbnb. Just a river, just some silly squirrels and birds that had been fun to hang out with.

It was so stupid that I was so sad, wasn’t it?

As I deepened into my earth spirituality over the years, my ritual practices, learning feng shui and about land chi (land energy), I know now:

It’s so much more.

The cottage, the land, the river and its wildlife are living, breathing entities with whom we have built deep, and meaningful relationships.

They give us beautiful gifts. Their presence, their beauty, their wisdom

And we deserve to gift them back and be in communion with them, and to treat them as fellow beloveds.

To wind down our time there this summer, I did several little ceremonies and rituals - very simple ones - that I wanted to share with you today, whether you want to do them for your current land/home, or in other places that are special to you, too.

This email is for paid subscribers of the Soother. I’ll be back to writing to the main list in late September.