Many times while Damien was on death row I would spin out. Not having any control over a situation that was life-threatening to a loved one played havoc with my emotions.

My stress levels affected Damien’s stress levels, and over time we became rather frayed at the edges.

At that time, I was living in a house situated in the woods. Damien suggested I go out and sit on the ground when things began to twist and turn in my psyche.

I can still visualize it, and I go there in my mind even to this day. The forest was tall pines with some oak strewn about. The ground was hard but covered in pine needles. I sat with my back against the shaggy bark of a well-established evergreen.

I sat. I breathed. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind. And slowly I began to feel calm.

To ground yourself on the actual earth, with its soil and leaves, and in deep, deep silence is like no other medicine.

You can do it in your mind while in a cab or waiting in the doctor’s office. It doesn’t have to be pines and oak; it can be sand with the sound of waves crashing. The important thing is to connect with the earth.

Find your place on the ground and breathe.