ROOTED MINDS
Relationship Walk.
Overview.
Duration:
The aim of this relationship walk is to work on the fundamental values of creating friendships: trust, acceptance, appreciation, gratitude, creativity, and truly knowing the other person. This activity can be conducted as a bonding activity to refresh your relationship with someone whom you haven’t met in a long while or it can be used when you meet a stranger for the first time. Being silent yet comfortable in each other’s presence is a hallmark of deep friendships and meaningful relationships.
Benefits.
Social Benefits:
-
Interaction
-
Inclusion interracial interaction
-
Social support
-
Social Cohesion
Health Benefits:
-
Resilience against heart diseases
Concept.
Trees may seem like they are great examples of individuality however they are actually living communities, not individuals. Trees are made from relationships through interconnection. These interconnections can be in the form of biochemical, genetic, physiological, microbiological, ecological. Trees have lots of different layers of connections with different organisms thus bringing the tree to life. People’s relationships are formed from interconnections as well similar to trees. Trees and people’s relationships are similar and not fragmented in one way or another.
Instructions.
-
Firstly, we start off the walk by asking our partner this simple question.“If you could be one thing in nature, what would you be? And why?” Nature introductions are about allowing friends to know about things we can relate to and the personality qualities that we find important to us. Do pause this audio and play it again once you’re ready to start the next activity.
-
Welcome back! In this second activity, as you take a walk in nature, each person finds an interesting thing that calls out to them like an unusual rock, or a tree and shares why they relate to that object in nature or what is common between them and the natural object. Do pause this audio and play it again once you’re ready to start the next activity.
-
Hello there! In this third activity: Take 10 minutes to share important memories from your life with your partner. These are memories of important turning points in your life that have given a new direction to your life. Each partner takes 5 minutes to share 1 or 2 turning points from their life. End the exercise by sharing a memorable moment in nature that has stayed with you. Do pause this audio and play it again once you’re ready to start the next activity.
-
Welcome back! Up next in this fourth activity, each person finds an interesting tree that catches their attention and spends about 10 minutes sitting under that tree or in its branches. Reflect on what your tree can teach you about relationships. After engaging with the tree, share your insights with your partner, and listen to theirs. Do pause this audio and play it again once you’re ready to start the next activity.
-
Hi and welcome back! In this fifth activity, Find things that have fallen on the forest floor and create a forest baby. The forest baby can take any form and shape – human, animal, or magical. The rule is to create it in silence and this allows you to observe each other’s working style and share a deeper sense of communication which goes beyond the use of words. It’s basically an exercise in understanding that a large part of relationships is about creating things with each other. Do pause this audio and play it again once you’re ready to start the next activity.
-
We have finally reached the last step of this activity: End the walk with a few words of appreciation and gratitude for nature as well as your partner. Appreciation and gratitude are a form of social glue that binds us as a community. It is also a way of observing and seeing things. A much-needed quality that we all need to develop within ourselves to build relationships. (Pause a bit)
Well done! You have taken a huge step in improving your mental wellness during this relationship walk. Please do remember to write down your thoughts and feelings at the end of this activity! Goodbye!