I got to witness Hurricane Sandy up front and close. Out my living room window, I watched as some of the most massive trees on our property got uprooted and thundered to the ground. Trees that had been standing for hundreds of years, with circumferences of 3 or 4 feet, as solid as they make them. It was a humbling and terrifying spectacle.

I heard a teacher once share that fear of birth (and fear of women in general) is directly related to our fear of nature. This idea emerged in my mind as I contemplated Sandy. Yes, nature in its fury can definitely be terrifying, but usually it isn’t. On a day to day basis, nature is beautiful, glorious, and life affirming. Since we moved here into our little neck of the woods, I have soaked in stunning sunrises and reveled in autumn’s vibrant paintbrush. I have felt the energy of the trees, surround me, sustain me, and ground me. And yet, in the aftermath of the hurricane, I couldn’t help wondering if moving here wasn’t a mistake. The city seemed so much safer, more stable, as if Sandy had barely hit. But my body wholly resisted that thought with the knowledge of what I would be giving up- all the joy and pleasure that I experience everyday in living in the beauty of the natural world.