Even in the best of times, people have forgotten how to harmonize with nature. Fast, busy lives leave us scratching our heads as we question the value of “watching the flowers grow.” During times of stress and difficulty especially, we reason that nature does not seem to hold much importance. But our soul and body know otherwise.
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.” Instinctively, we know in our soul that being in nature is good for us. Exposure to trees, water, fresh air, sunshine, and natures sights and sounds all serve to ease our aches and pains. Nature heals our tired minds in part because it is quietly fascinating.
Connection to nature has its own way of healing you. It doesn’t matter how stressed or depressed we are, a short time tramping across the hills, in sunshine or rain, focusing on nothing more complex than where to put your next footstep, is guaranteed to purge at least some of those heavy energies.
For no reason, sit beneath an old tree, watch the flight of a bird, feel the breeze as it blows through the nearby flowers, and gaze into the eternal flowing of a stream. Watch some ants crawling by. Turn over a log and see the roly poly creatures living there. There’s nothing you are supposed to be looking at or thinking about while you are outside. You can just walk or sit there with no real purpose.
Leave the shelter of your home’s four walls and reestablish contact with the Earth. Even on a frigid winter night or during a lonely grey rainy morning, wrap up and venture into the outdoors. Sit by the creek and cry your lonely tears. Visit with the tree spirits, father sun, and mother earth. Let the wind blow its magical breath as you inhale and take it all in. Say hello to the stars, the moon, and the night creatures.
Nature is fundamentally linked to our human spirituality. Native American Indians held an expression that “All truth can be found in nature.” When we view the changes of the daybreak and dusk, the sun, moon and stars in the sky, when we witness the changing of the seasons we realize that there is something more powerful to life. Nature prompts us to reflect on the ever-changing experiences of existence and what might lie beyond it.
