Is This Part of “Grounding”?

“Sunrise” will never be the same again

I’ve been told several times, (ok, many times) that I need to be more “grounded”. That my health and body need it.

At first, this confused me. I’ve always liked going barefoot. I liked it as a child, too young to know that bare feet were a part of mom’s budget. Even with clover flower bee stings, free-range toes felt great.

Later, raising a family in Chicago didn’t allow a lot of shoe-free time, but there was weeding in the backyard and trips to the lake with children. More recently, there has been living on a Lake Michigan beach — complete with daily barefoot walks in the sand.

Still the advice repeated — get more grounded.

I tried grounding insoles (VibesUp.com). I tried sessions with a shaman (https://www.helpingspirits.net). I tried meditation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUewwp-M5S8 ). **

It seemed I really liked being “in my head” and not “grounded”.

(In my defense, “in my head” is really, cleanly, fascinating. You must admit that being “on the earth” is — messy.)

One prescription for better health as I age has me saying an affirmation aloud each day, I say it as I sniff specific essential oils. Hey, the American (and familial) pastimes of diabetes and hypertension haven’t gotten me, so why not?

“All of my spleens are connected to an infinite-length spring. This combined connection is threaded through my root chakra and extends to the center of Mother Earth.”

I’ve been reciting this for three months now. Since I don’t know what “grounded” feels like, I can’t verify I’m becoming grounded, but this recent experience looks suspect.

It’s very early morning. I sit, watching a cloudy sky brighten. The hidden sun creates a dimmer switch on the water out my ocean view. “Won’t be any ‘sun rise’ this morning,” I think.

Have you ever considered how inaccurate the term “sunrise” is? Sure, hundreds and thousands of years ago, it made sense. But why don’t we update it now?

I glance up from the blond sand to the grey clouds. Suddenly, I FEEL the earth “tip” toward the sun. It feels like one of those time-lapse videos of an azalea bloom turning towards the sunlight.

I could FEEL the earth being PULLED toward the sun. I could FEEL this globe tugged towards that distant orb.

It was the strangest sensation. It’s stayed with me all week. Maybe it’s part of me now. This bone-deep feeling of being in motion toward the sun (well, it would be “away” at night — or rather, a longer pull around the back and then toward the sun again.)

Is this part of being “grounded”? No longer feeling stationary on land with a starry movie playing above me? But feeling in motion, an infinitesimal speck in a cosmic dance?

I thought “grounded” might be limiting. I never guessed it might be cool.

• * Those previous activities may very well have been baby steps necessary to get me up and moving on this journey. But none of them were accomplishing the mission of, “Get more grounded.”
• In case you didn’t guess already — a reader can click the Medium “clap” button 50 times per article. It’s not the “only once” function of a “Like” on Facebook or “fave” on Twitter. Clapping helps writers keep writing, you know.