The gratitude that nature brings.

Mindfulness in Nature

I have been experiencing a lot of nature for the past week. Amazing drives through Colorado and New Mexico that remind me to slow down and notice the natural world. The beauty. The textures. The colors. The shadows. The movement. All that is alive all around me.

There is nothing quite like nature. Always there. Whether we live in the city or a more rural area there are elements of nature all around us. The sky. The wind. The earth. Trees. Bushes. All sorts of plants. Birds. Lizards. Mice. Beetles. Rocks. Mountains. Streams. Rivers. The Ocean. 

There is something particularly magical about being surrounded by nature with few if any man-made elements in your line of sight. I was fortunate enough to experience this twice this week in two different places. Being immersed in nature can make it particularly easy to be mindful, witnessing nature doing what it does.

But we can also practice this with small elements of nature no matter where we are. This week find yourself as a witness to nature. Mindfully noticing with all your senses. Include elements of nature in your gratitude this week.

Some prompts to guide you:

1. Look at a plant. Notice the shadows, colors, textures. Also experience it in another way such as touching it, smelling it or tasting it.
2. Witness the moon. What do you see? Where is it in the sky? What phase is it in? What colors do you see in the moon? How does the light from the moon play on other elements of nature you see?
3. Witness a tree. Look at it from top to bottom. But when you get to the soil acknowledge all that you can’t see. Imagine the depths of its roots. Touch its bark and imagine that through the touch you can connect with the fullness of the tree all thew way down to its roots.
4. Smell a flower that is still rooted in the earth. Smell its leaves. Smell the soil. Imagine that you can taste the colors you see.
5. Listen to insects, birds and animals. Imagine that you can see their voices vibrating in their bodies before the sound emerges.

To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.
~Mary Davis

What are you grateful to witness in nature today?

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