I was fortunate to grow up many years before the advent of computers, cellphones, social media, and the myriad distractions that today’s youth face. Every minute not in school was spent climbing trees, playing hide and seek in the woods, splashing in streams, or fishing for minnows in the ponds. Weekends regularly included family picnics in the nearby hills. Although my work has often meant living in cities, I have never lost my love of nature.
We are part of nature and nature is part of us. No matter how hard the world seems to try, we cannot separate ourselves from nature. Everything we do has an effect on the environment, and any change in the environment affects us. If I start my car engine, it creates a change in the air quality. If the weather changes from warm and sunny to cold and rainy, I feel different both physically and emotionally. The environment is our extended body, an inseparable part of who we are.
What’s your relationship with nature? English poet William Blake wrote, “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity ... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself."
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Which are you? When we connect with nature and appreciate the gifts of its diversity and beauty, we grow more in tune with all of life. Falling in love with nature awakens our love affair with life. As the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti said, “If you have no relationship with nature, you have no relationship with man.”
Our life is a garden, a magical garden full of wonderful things. But we need to tend our garden and feed the soil to enjoy its gifts, the flowers, fruits, and even the weeds. My parents kept a well-groomed garden, but there was always a corner that they allowed to grow wild, a place where nature could enjoy herself. To fully enjoy nature, we need to let go of expectations of how we think it should be.
As novelist Alice Walker reminded us, “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”
When you’re out in nature, make it a point to relax, be open, and feel the calming energy. It heals and nurtures your inner joy. Allow yourself to merge with its beauty and, as Van Morrison sang, “Smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly.”
Hiking in the hills, sitting by a river, walking on the beach, and relaxing in a local park or a wooded area are wonderful ways to connect with nature. But we can also connect in our own garden, with a window box or houseplants. As Anne Frank said, “Go outside, to the fields. Enjoy nature and the sunshine. Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”
Here are 10 simple ways to connect with nature for a happier, more peaceful, more fulfilling existence.
10 Ways to Connect With Nature
1. The next time you go for a walk, leave your cellphone at home.
2. When you’re outside, sit or stand and breathe in fully. Feel nature’s life force energizing and transforming every cell. Exhale everything that no longer serves you. Nature is always open to absorb all of your troubles.
3. Listen to a river or the ocean and feel the flow of nature through your own body. Feel the air or breeze flowing through you, purifying you, and feel the warmth of the sun enlivening your muscles.
4. Rest your chest against a tree and see if you can feel its heartbeat. Writer Joseph Campbell once said, “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”
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5. Weather permitting, walk barefoot on the Earth. Put your attention on your feet, with the intention of absorbing the grounding, strengthening and nourishing energies of Mother Earth.
6. Before you eat a meal, take a moment to think of everything that contributed to providing the food, and be grateful. Here’s a simple prayer you can use, or you can create your own.
Blessed be the Earth for giving birth to this food,
Blessed be the sun for nourishing it,
Blessed be the wind for carrying its seed,
Blessed be the rain for quenching its thirst,
Blessed be the hands that helped to grow this food,
That cooked this food and brought it to our tables,
To nourish our minds, bodies, and spirits,
Blessed be our friends, families, and loved ones,
Blessed be all.
7. Nature moves in rhythms and cycles. Getting in tune with these cycles helps to bring balance and harmony to both body and mind. Vietnamese monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh said, "Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything.”
Try some of these:
- Wake up with nature and get up by 6-6.30 am.
- Go to sleep with nature and be in bed by 10-10.30 pm.
- Eat your main meal at around 12-1 pm, when the sun and your digestive fire is strongest. Eat a light to moderate meal in the evening by 7 pm, as things slow down.
- Eat warmer, heavier foods during the dry, cooler, windy months of autumn, and eat cooling foods in summer. Eat lighter, spicier foods during the wet, cold spring season. Eat locally grown foods in season.
8. Awaken your five senses through nature. Go for a walk in a natural setting. Pause and focus on just your hearing: How many different sounds of nature can you hear? Listen for the birds singing, the wind through the trees, a stream or the ocean, distant thunder, and other similar sounds. Be very still, and perhaps you can hear the cosmic hum of the universe.
Continue walking and then pause for the sense of touch — the bark of a tree, a soft leaf, the shape of a stone, the wind in your hair, the sun on your face.
Next, pause for the sense of sight. Look at all the different shapes and colors displayed by Mother nature — the movement, the flight of a bird, the sunlight and shadows ... Watch the clouds float by.
Continue walking and pause to taste nature. Stick your tongue out and taste the air. Maybe bring some fruit with you and enjoy its different tastes. Lick your lips or the back of your hand.
For your final pause, see how many natural smells you can identify: a flower, a tree, the Earth, scents in the air.
Finish by finding a place where you can sit and meditate and totally connect with your surroundings.
9. On a clear night, gaze into the sky. Allow your awareness to drift further and deeper into the sky, floating past the stars and planets. Imagine your body expanding to fill the sky, becoming one with the whole universe.
10. Love nature by giving back. Recycle whenever possible, buy organic produce, and support local farmers’ markets. Perhaps once a month, take a walk and pick up litter around your neighborhood.
Albert Einstein told us, “Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
See the beauty and divinity in everything, and together we can create a peaceful, sustainable home for all life.
Roger Gabriel is Chopra Global’s Chief Meditation Officer and a member of the Chopra Center Certifications’ Advisory Board. Want to learn from him directly? Enroll in the Chopra Meditation Certification, the Chopra Meditation Enrichment course, or the Chopra Meditation Foundations course.
