A mindful meander in Mother Nature.
You can’t expect people to care about something (or someone, for that matter) that they have no connection with. Which is why I try to get my daily connection with nature through a combination of beach or bush/park walks. Doing so is not only important to increase environmental awareness, but it is incredibly beneficial to your physical and mental health, and I believe your soul as well.
I thoroughly enjoy my beach walks and I am extremely grateful to live five minutes from some pretty great beaches here on the west coast of Australia. I’m an aesthetic man, I love “beauty”, and these walks are often absolutely stunning at sunset and invigorating to the spirit.
These walks enable me to go over things in my head and explore ideas and concerns that I have. The vast open space of a beach, the meditative and rhythmic nature of the waves, the sounds and smells of the fauna and flora, the energy from the sun are ideal ingredients to stimulate and heal an individual.
I like to walk in silence, taking in all of what nature has to offer through my senses, whereas some prefer to listen to music or a podcast or make a phone call while doing so. I understand why this is so and for the most part have no problems with it, but it takes people out of being in the present moment and hinders the replenishing nature (pun intended) of such an activity. To me, it interrupts the connection I’m trying to make, there's this intermediary stimulus detracting my attention away from my immediate experience. I talked last week about how our overstimulation is having negative effects on us and I feel people’s needs to have to listen/watch/consume material and/or “kill two birds with one stone”, has affected our ability to connect to the present moment and enjoy our current experience in its entirety.
You don’t have to do it every day, but try and get out and connect with nature on a semi-regular basis and I’m sure you’ll start to feel the difference. It is very easy to get in a habit of not going out, especially thanks to COVID-19, but also due to work, family and other commitments along with the vast array of on-screen entertainment options, where you end up spending the majority of your time surrounded by four walls. This is not good for your health. Please go out and be amongst the environment, you and the people around you will thank you.
I think that is enough writing for today. I’m off to bare my soles with the sand and the sounds of the sea.
