Estuaries – A Place of Growth and Change

I am curious about transitional places in nature where change and growth are nurtured. For me, estuaries are places where this happens effortlessly. I learned about estuaries from my son who studied salmon life cycles in kindergarten. My first impression from his eyes suggested that estuaries embrace change, growth, adaption, and learning. For those that don’t know estuaries are transitional zones where fresh and salt water environments mix. Here on the Pacific Coast, estuaries provide young salmon with the right environment during a developmental stage called smoltification where young salmon grow the internal organs they need to thrive in salt water that they didn’t need in the fresh water. When salmon are ready, they leave the estuary to live in the ocean far away from the home stream they were born in. However, this would not be possible without a place like an estuary as it provides all the necessary ingredients for the salmon to undergo the physiological changes necessary to thrive in the ocean.

As a therapist, there is something inspirational about this. I look at estuaries as sacred places – a place where nature provides all that is necessary to thrive and grow. It is a reminder that growth is necessary and continuous. Salmon remain in the estuary until they are ready to swim in salt water or return to their home stream. There is no rushing this process. I think estuaries are places that can teach us how to navigate transitional times in our life.

In counseling, we can look to estuaries and learn the following:

• Change and growth is necessary and expected
• Trust the natural cycles and processes of life
• Have patience & don’t rush the process
• Breathe – soon it will be your turn

There are many places in our natural world where we can reflect on similar principals. My hope is to use this blog to story my curiosities and reflections as I journey our natural world.