A few years back I found a wonderful quartet of books: The Books of Pellinor by Alison Croggon. These books are amazing and I still go back to them regularly. When I read books I enter another dimension, whatever dimension that book happens to open for me. When I read these books, I went to a dimension that was in some ways new and in other ways familiar to me. Alison Croggon has characters who are Elementals and these beings resonate with me. My meditation practice consists of daily walks, usually the same few miles of roads. I walk under sun, clouds, in rain, snow, into wind and away from wind. I walk when a tank top and shorts are too many clothes and the air is so thick with humidity that I feel like I'm swimming rather than walking. I walk when my nose peeking out above my scarf freezes and my eyes water from the cold. I walk on pavement, dirt roads, grassy verges. My eyes have the silhouettes of the mountains imprinted in them. My feet know the earth cold, hot and in between. All these walks in all the different conditions have brought my awareness to the elements. Having been an Elemental somewhere along the way, knowing the powers and energies of the elements is a remembering for me. The elements are available for us to use in every day life. And I find that when I'm working with finding an interspecies balance, elements are a wonderful base to tune into and start from. Non-human animals are very elemental, and while there are times they may need some help with the elements, I find the humans need more help with the elements. We are each a unique blend of the elements and knowing that unique blend can go a long way to knowing your true purpose and knowing the divine. It can also help you find the connections that exist between you and other living beings whether your family members, a store clerk, the neighbor's dog or the cardinal outside your window. And since most of us are not hermits, this is a valuable gift and tool. By slowly shifting perspective a whole new world opens up, and every day I acknowledge the elements within me and surrounding me and know we are all one.