The Healing Gift of Gratitude: A journey through Stoneycliffe Nature Reserve with the wonderful Simire!

As mentioned in my last post, I’m setting the intention to journey to a sacred place each week. My definition of sacred is broad, it can mean a well known ancient sacred site, or somewhere I consider sacred (which for me is ANYWHERE with a tree). It’s also my hope that others interested in connecting to the land as a soulful, sentient being, would like to join me on some of these excursions :)

My most recent trip has been to Stoneycliffe Nature Reserve in Netherton, Wakefield. Talk about sacred. The energy there is so special, it has drawn me back there three times this week! It’s believed that the trees grow on the bones of an ancient forest that once inhabited the area. Their branches twist and bend towards the sky in such a way, you can’t help but feel they’re aching with stories of old desperate to be heard.

On one occasion I was blessed to be able to spend the day exploring this beautiful woodland with my dear friend and Scorpio Sister Simire Ofeimu.

I was lucky to meet Simire a couple of years ago, and through our deep love and respect for the spirit of the elements, and having shared and held space for each other’s joys and pains whilst attending a women’s circle in Wakefield (facilitated by our dear and beloved friend Sri), our connection has grown. She is Mother of 8 children, an Afrikan Dance and Yoga teacher, and an absolute beautiful soul - who also happens to have incredible knowledge about herbs and their medicinal properties!

During our little adventure, we wandered barefoot in the stream that runs through the woodland. The sound of waters flowing over rock and fallen tree branches there is the best music nature has to offer!

We prayed. We shared stories. We laughed. We cried.

Whenever I spend time with Simire, I always feel like I learn something new, or come away feeling a little bit wiser. One particular piece of wisdom she gifted me on this special day was on the topic of gratitude -

“Be grateful for what life gives you because what it gives is perfect for you. You don’t need any more than that. I feel like some people are wanting to do too many things, be too many things. Just think of Spotify, there are millions of songs on there. You don’t need to listen to every song. That would be exhausting. Just listen to what you like, what’s meant for you!”

That comment shifted something in me, making me think of how I exhaust myself comparing my life to others, trying to tell myself I don’t have enough, that I’m not where I’m meant to be, forgetting the beauty of what I already have. Simire helped me remember that life is so generous when you let it be!

The land carries beauty and wisdom in its scars. We see it through the ways it adapts after facing extreme hardships, in the ways it never gives up finding new ways to flourish and reach for the sun. Just like the land, Simire holds a similar power, one that has grown from having walked through the fires and storms she's faced on her path, only for it to deepen her ability to love, to trust, and feel gratitude for all things. Her presence in my life has been a blessing, one that continually reminds me to be grateful for each day.

Thank you Simire for your friendship and sharing your wisdom with me (and for letting me photograph you connecting with the stream!).

Simire is an incredible Afrikan Dance and Yoga Teacher and holds classes across Wakefield. For more information you can find her on: Instagram @simiremubalama Facebook: Nionga, Nioka Nsimire Afrikan yoga (https://shorturl.at/mYq7M)

I also recommend a visit to Stoneycliffe Nature Reserve to anyone in the West Yorkshire area. It’s certainly worth the trip! You can enter the woodland from the entrance near Coxley Engine House Cafe, Wakefield, WF4 4PU. The parking near the cafe is free, but can get busy when the lovely cafe is open on weekends!

xxx