When you’re grounded you can head into a difficult conversation and support people to wage conflict with love. Sometimes challenging conversations emerge unexpectedly, and you don’t have time to prepare. That’s when a connection with nature can help you ground.

When I was with a group of artists in Toronto an exhausting conflict emerged. They were overwhelmed by the scale of our challenges, so I gave them a way to connect with nature, a force bigger than our group challenges. We were in a city building, 4 floors above the street, so I invited people to move to the windows.

“Look out at the skyline. See the sun, the people, the buildings. Remember the lives that have continued outside this room. We’ll be back with them soon, but for now, let’s just remember that they’re here."

Soon sunlight flooded the room, and people’s breathing changed. Connecting with nature, can give us a sense of the world beyond our immediate circumstance. Even through brick buildings and cement streets, we can connect with the earth. The city is part of the landscape, as the pines are part of the forest.

During tense meetings invite people connect with nature as a way to ground their perspective. All you need is a window or the ground beneath your feet.