When I visit large city parks, I am amused and heartened by the
seeming unconscious human need to connect with Mother Nature. In
the very heart of urban civilization, city parks draw in thousands of
people every day. I personally live in a magnificent rural setting,
constantly surrounded by nature’s glory and challenges. I smile
inwardly, listening to the array of foreign languages spoken around me
in the park. I watch worldwide visitors to a great metropolis seeking
sanctuary in a patch of domesticated wilderness. Humans need to
connect with nature, even if just a bit of it. Research now supports what
our instincts ‘know’: contact with the natural world is important to our
health.
Though most of us value nature, few of us actually enjoy a deep
connection with it. This is unfortunate, as it is through this connection
that we both receive and release. We receive a limitless source of
energy and inspiration, and we release worry, stress, and strain. In fact
playing outside, in any form, is a well-known kind of ‘therapy’ to find
balance and to rejuvenate. The “Great Mother” soothes the spirit,
sharpens the senses, and focuses thinking. The natural environment
helps us recognize our oneness with the life process. Taking us beyond
our limited and linear view of life, nature celebrates growth and
perpetual renewal.
This celebratory quality is at once inspiring and energizing. Spending
time in nature, especially when exercising in some way, makes the body
feel awake and alive. Physical centering leads directly to mental
centering and increased clarity. Part of mental centering is coming
deeply into the present moment. After spending time in nature, the
actual moment, the present, re-establishes itself, like a clear, melodic
chime being struck. The future and the past stop crowding in. This
easy, meditative state is deeply relaxing and allows stress to effortlessly
dissipate.
There are endless ways to connect and recharge with Mother Nature.
Hiking and canoeing are two classic choices. Their quiet rhythmic
qualities are especially soothing. They require a sharpening of the
senses and the sensibilities. You learn to better use your ears, eyes,
sense of smell and balance. Even the simplest ties to the natural world
can boost your health. Observe an aquarium, look at landscape
photography, or visit a garden. Connect with nature, connect more
deeply with yourself, and create energy and harmony. When we
become more mindful and present, we essentially become more alive.
“When you know nature as part of yourself,
You will act in harmony.
When you feel yourself a part of nature,
You will live in harmony.”
Tao Te Ching (Tao 13)
Copyright 2005. Karen B. Cohen All Rights Reserved