I often say that nature is my holy place. When I’m stressed or sad about something, the easiest place for me to get centered, think, and pray is outside. I love going to the mountains because being surrounded by towering peaks and spiking evergreens is truly a religious experience. Now that I live on the peninsula, it’s a lot easier to make it to the water than it is the mountains.  Fresh air tinged with salt and seaweed, loud-mouthed seagulls, and crashing waves are medicine for me. Not the kind I can swallow, but definitely the kind I can feel.

I’ve had a lot of stress happening in my life recently, from family strife to my autoimmune disease that is out of control, and I reached my breaking point last week. I took a mental health day from work and ended up at Point No Point Lighthouse in the north Kitsap peninsula community of Hansville.  This place is…. *sigh*…. perfect. Sandy beaches, a working lighthouse, views of beautiful Puget Sound in all directions, and the Seattle skyline tiny and barely discernable in the distance. Even better that, since it’s a county park, it’s free!