The Long Way Home: Finding Peace in the Alabama Pines

I grew up in the Long-leaf Pines and Magnolias in the Coastal Plain of South Alabama, where the woods were my first home. But as I got older, life got a lot heavier. I went through a time of mental health trauma that made me feel like I had to run—so I spent a long time chasing something else, thinking I’d be happier anywhere but where I started. I tried to drown out all that restless noise, but I finally realized all those miles weren't a mistake; they were just the long way of finding my way back to myself. I’m done with the noise of the city now; it doesn’t give me the kind of peace I find in the trees and on the river. Out here, nature doesn’t judge me for what I’ve been through or ask for anything—it just lets me be. I’ve come full circle, from a kid in the pines to an adult who finally stopped escaping. I’m home in the woods again, and it’s the only place that truly knows my name. There is a medicine in these pines, that you just can’t find anywhere else. It’s in the way the wind 'hushes' through them, sounding more like the ocean than the trees. It’s in the simple, slow-motion joy of sitting on a front porch swing, a cold glass of sweet tea in your hand and a thick slice of pound cake in the other, watching the fireflies claim the yard. I’ve learned that when life feels unbearable, the best thing you can do is surround yourself with the peace of the pines, and breath in and fill your lungs with the earth. When the sun finally drops and that first whippoorwill starts to sing out of the dark, it’s like a long exhale for the soul. It’s nature’s way of telling you that the day is done, the ghosts are quiet, and you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Out here, you'll find peace in the pines—as they welcome you back like you never left.