If you have taken the time to observe nature, you already know that there is much to learn. From its beautiful simplicity to its mesmerizing complexity, there are boundless lessons that we can apply in our own lives. Have you considered the lessons from nature?
Everything in nature unfolds effortlessly.
Everything is perfect and awe-inspiring. Yet, although we are one with nature, we strain and strive. We stress over things we can’t control. We stress over minute problems. Our anxiety levels are on the rise. We find ourselves with our wheels spinning and it can be hard to break this pattern.
However, when we pause and look to nature, we can find a lot of guidance. If you are having a bad day, go outside.
Drop the dialogue in your brain for a minute and just observe nature.
You will be able to absorb its rhythm, its perfection, and the ease with which everything happens. Nature also creates spaciousness. Part of the reason why we find it so hard to break free from negative thoughts or situations is that we are so close to them.
We are emotionally engaged. We can be easily triggered. We have all felt overwhelmed or anxious at one point or another. Nothing changes in the moment and then later we forget about it or the feeling dissipates. This is because we gained some space between ourselves and the situation. I have also found that nature can speak to me in a way that calms my mind and spirit. Nature puts things into perspective.
Many of the things that stress us out today, won’t even matter tomorrow.
Many won’t matter in a week or a month or a year.
There are very few anxiety-ridden scenarios that deserve our energy or mental territory. By escaping to nature, even briefly, we can get a hold of our thoughts and energy. We create spaciousness around our issues or our concerns by being out in nature. It can be as simple as looking outside your window and watching the movements of the trees or the animals.
There’s a tree outside my bedroom picture window that I routinely use as my teacher.
I’ll look out at it and think, isn’t it interesting, how the leaves just simply do their thing.
Sometimes they stand still.
Sometimes they move in shimmering excitement.
Sometimes they’re green; sometimes they’re yellow as they come and go with the seasons. They don’t have a bad day. They don’t resist. They just always go with the flow.
I ask, Can I not be more like the leaves? We’re made of the same stuff, so what’s all my resistance about? I draw tremendous strength from these sweet gifts of Mother Nature. If I calm myself as I watch them, I can feel my breathing become more relaxed and my tensions disappear.
One day, when it seemed that nothing was going my way, I finally realized I had been resisting instead of surrendering to things I couldn’t control. Suddenly I thought, My leaves! I’m going to go upstairs and watch my leaves!
I ran up the stairs and looked out and they were gone!
They’d been there the day before, ready to give in to the cold. Strong winds overnight had suddenly blown them away. The lesson that came back to me. A different season had taken over and the leaves surrendered to it.
Why? Because it was a cycle of life and for the good of the tree. Nature made some trees that can only survive by sleeping through the cold and storing energy in their roots so they can renew their leaves come spring.
And that was my answer, too.
My resistance had been for naught. It was not yet the season for what I wanted. So, it was time to surrender … to redirect myself to more productive pursuits … to push my roots a little deeper and to strengthen them for what was to come. Just as that tree does when it must.
This was a great reminder for me to go with the flow. Remind yourself not to sweat the small stuff – it’s all small stuff. Lessons from nature offers us this perspective and it is up to us to use it to our benefit and to access it as much as we are able.
