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Kessi World

Reunite with the land.

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Kessi World Blog

This website started in 2019, and my perspective on travel and the world has changed. In particular, my closeness with nature continues to be more prominent in content about the Pacific Northwest. These blog posts are the story of my evolution.

The inside of an eclectic lodge in the Pacific Northwest shows the morning after, with the plaid bed sheets ruffled and two pillows strewn about the bed. The window has a green border and blinds and there is a poster that reads Olympic National Park.

Where to stay to connect with the land in the Pacific Northwest

March 17, 2024

Where to stay to connect with the land in the Pacific Northwest? Helpful hints to enjoy grounding in nature. Includes favorite Airbnbs.

Continue Reading Where to stay to connect with the land in the Pacific Northwest

A desert scene at Saguaro National Park near Tucson Arizona. This is an excellent place to keep present to a nature connection. There is a giant cactus in the foreground with dramatic slanting rocks adorned with a variety of desert vegetation, under blue skies.

How keeping present shapes a soulful nature experience in the desert.

March 2, 2024

If not careful, it’s easy to let fear based distractions derail a potentially soulful nature connection. Here’s how I saved a recent visit to Saguaro National Park from going south.

Continue Reading How keeping present shapes a soulful nature experience in the desert.

A hiker walks down steps surrounded by bright green foliage.

Why grounding in nature is essential to travel well.

February 18, 2024

Grounding in nature is essential to managing emotions and opening up to all the beauty of travel experiences.

Continue Reading Why grounding in nature is essential to travel well.

A woman in a plaid overcoat with pink hair walks on a forest trail in a nature meditation therapy session in an Oregon forest. The trees are adult and tall. They are relatively close together an uniform in size. This photography present perspective as the woman is a fraction of the size of the forest.

How nature photography helps grounding in your own nature.

February 4, 2024

The medicine of the natural world is available in the visual arts. How nature photography helps ground in your own nature.

Continue Reading How nature photography helps grounding in your own nature.

A brilliant fall day in Derry, Northern Ireland. This scene is a park with changing autumn leaves fallen on the bright green grass while. In the foreground is an oval shaped pond while the steeple of a church can be seen in the distance.

How grounding in nature reset my Derry, Ireland visit.

November 19, 2023

How grounding in nature reset my Derry, Ireland visit. Happy Thanksgiving week!  I’m thankful that you’re reading this newsletter. And as always, I am grateful to the natural world for all the guidance, support, and enlightenment in 2023.  With a recent trip to Europe on my mind, I’ll share an experience that taught me gratitude…

Continue Reading How grounding in nature reset my Derry, Ireland visit.

ShiShi Beach trail at low tide with barnacle clad glacier rocks exposed. They are surrounded by low tide pools while more dramatic rock stacks rise up in the distance under gray skies.

ShiShi Beach Trail photo meditation

August 31, 2023

Calm mind and body with this 20-photo meditation from ShiShi Beach Trail, in Olympic National Park. Get lost in the textures and colors.

Continue Reading ShiShi Beach Trail photo meditation

The skyline of New York City as seen from a park on the other side of the East River.

Is it possible to enjoy a nature-forward experience in the middle of New York City?

February 26, 2023

What I learned about a nature-forward trip on a weekend away in New York City.

Continue Reading Is it possible to enjoy a nature-forward experience in the middle of New York City?

Leavenworth Washington is the perfect location to try a nature forward vacation. The icy Wenatchee River winds through hillsides covered in snow with a scattering of cabins underneath majestic mountains.

How to take a nature-forward vacation?

February 12, 2023

What does it mean to enjoy a nature-forward vacation, and how can it benefit you? Put to the test in Leavenworth, Washington. 

Continue Reading How to take a nature-forward vacation?

A budding red rhododendron flower emerges on the scene during a forest bathing experience.

What can we learn from forest bathing in the rain?

January 29, 2023

Heavy raindrops in the darkness of winter are a doorway to healing nature spirits. How can you learn from forest bathing?

Continue Reading What can we learn from forest bathing in the rain?

Connecting with nature where you are

January 15, 2023

Nature is there to meet you exactly where you are on any given day, in any mood or state of mind. Let me show you how.

Continue Reading Connecting with nature where you are

Frenchglen hotel is a hidden gem in the PNW. The sun is out with blue sky and the hotel sits along the road -- paved with yellow stripes. Poplar trees surround the wooden historical building.

Hidden Hotels of the PNW

October 23, 2022

Exploring Oregon’s outback from the Frenchglen Hotel reveals rewarding possibilities in travel. Just an example of my favorite quiet delights throughout Oregon and Washington offering similar opportunities to get away.

Continue Reading Hidden Hotels of the PNW

Matthew Kessi stands on the top of Haleakala Crater on Maui with the sun setting behind him. His silhouette is backlit by the orange glow of the sunset.

My own private Maui

October 9, 2022

Reflections on the impact of tourism, on Maui and otherwise, around the world. I have suggestions for what each of us can do about it.

Continue Reading My own private Maui

Star shaped flowers open up against the blue sky and dark green foliage.

Ballard Locks Balance

October 2, 2022

What can we learn from an engineering marvel dependent upon the flow of nature?

Continue Reading Ballard Locks Balance

This scene in a mangrove in Miami Florida shows several white birds with orange beaks and the brown roots of the mangrove and green leaves.

Magic Miami

September 25, 2022

Sometimes the most prominent spirit comes in unsuspecting places. Reflections on a nature journey in Miami with my friend Chad.

Continue Reading Magic Miami

A view from the trunk level of an age old cedar tree with bark wetted from the rain in Parsons Gardens on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle.

Legacy of the trees

September 18, 2022

A reflection on rebuilding a forest for the future — and my active work to build a legacy of my own.

Continue Reading Legacy of the trees

View from the narrow gauge rail train leading up to Top of Europe tourist attraction. Two asian tourists peer out the window of the train to a dramatic landscape of jagged Alpine peaks.

Weaving nature into transportation

September 4, 2022

Is there more that can be done to invite a deeper relationship with nature into the transportation experience?

Continue Reading Weaving nature into transportation

View from a bedroom window looking at the shining light of the Heceta Lighthouse. The yard in the foreground is full of green grass and surrounded by a white picket fence.

What does access to nature really mean, and can it help save the planet?

December 5, 2021

A breakfast conversation at Heceta Head Lighthouse inspires examination of whether access to nature is helping save the planet… or not.

Continue Reading What does access to nature really mean, and can it help save the planet?

A drawing of Sasquatch from a Coast Salish artist depicts him walking in the forest with rounded trees. He has piercing blue eyes and purple mouth with black drawn in features around his face. The rest of him is different swirls of browns depicting fur.

Sasquatch is my friend

September 24, 2021

Sasquatch is my friend. I don’t know him in the way that he comes to my house and eats dinner with me, but he’s with me in spirit. I have a 4×6 postcard depicting him walking in the forest, weaving around rich green trees. He sits near my computer — looking at me with piercing…

Continue Reading Sasquatch is my friend

Matthew Kessi stands at the summit of Mt. Rainier

How Mt. Rainier taught me a lesson in humility

August 29, 2021

Reflections on a climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier, and the learnings around humility that would inspire me 10 years later.

Continue Reading How Mt. Rainier taught me a lesson in humility

Celebration and remembering this 4th of July

July 4, 2021

How the curated conversation of the Hibulb Cultural Center offers an engaging way to learn and remember on this 4th of July celebration.

Continue Reading Celebration and remembering this 4th of July

Selfie of Matthew Kessi sitting on a tree stump overlooking a lake with greenish water.

Do you want to take your relationship with nature to the next level?

Let me show you how paying attention to nature opens the door to seeing yourself — and the world — differently. Transformation is closer than you think.

I offer Mystic Nature Experiences, 90-minute in-person guided journeys in select parks and gardens in Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland.

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I would like to acknowledge that much of my inspiration comes from living on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.

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