There’s something healing, nurturing, and comforting in nature. Whether you consider yourself an “outdoor” person or not, immersing yourself in the woods, on the water, on a path, in the city or anywhere else offers space for you and your thoughts.
Few things are as transformative as time outdoors. Do you get outside enough? Or do you use the weather and other excuses to avoid the space?
When we moved into our lake home, we had only considered the summer and time in and on the water. As the seasons changed, we realized each one held a different offering, each transformative in their own way. This passage from Lin Yutang describes some of it: “I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So, I like best of all autumn, because its leaves are a little yellow, its tone mellower, its colors richer, and it is tinged a little with sorrow and a premonition of death. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor of the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and is content. From a knowledge of those limitations and its richness of experience emerges a symphony of colors, richer than all, its green speaking of life and strength, its orange speaking of golden content and its purple of resignation and death.”
Day 8: Today, spend at least 10 minutes outdoors. Leave your phone and be present with nature while observing what you’re grateful for. Find things you see, hear, smell, and touch to invite all your senses into your experience. Notice who or what stands out in the quiet.