reconnecting with nature

Lull – Day 776

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
What? – Photo: L. Weikel

Lull

The week between Christmas and New Years is a classic opportunity for most of us to step back and experience the lull. Sadly, it’s a safe bet there will be exponentially more angst and uncertainty this coming week than normal.

Normal. What a quaint and impossible to define concept, especially this year. Which makes indulging the lull even more of a responsibility.

Comforting Routine

Karl and I managed to take a walk today. It was normal, for all intents and purposes. Uneventful. An attempt to re-engage with our routine.

I only took a few photos. None of them screamed, “This merits a post!” But I’ll include a couple anyway.

It felt comforting to take a walk after having missed the last three days (at least). This was quite a long stretch to go without our daily immersion in nature. I was feeling it, feeling the disconnection.

As much as walking is sacred to me, I’m curious at how easy it is to fall out of the habit. Even worse is how insidiously easy it is to then talk myself out of resuming that which keeps me grounded and balanced.

Why do I do that to myself? It’s the same with my writing. And reading for pleasure. It’s almost as if it’s a sin against nature to allow myself to stop thinking about all the things I ‘should’ be doing for a moment and just be. Just read. Just write in my journal.

Really? – Photo: L. Weikel

I Know Better

Intellectually, I know better. Of course I do! I know the value – the necessity – of taking care of our own needs and keeping ourselves nourished and nurtured. I also know how much better I feel when I walk, when I give myself an opportunity to listen to a flock of geese and feel the thrill of having a chat with a doe.

My habit of resisting what’s best for my heart and soul when I need it the most is tedious. I see it and recognize it, but I’m not going to indulge it. It’s based in an old set of beliefs that don’t work anymore, and frankly, never did.

I intend to indulge – and enjoy – the lull tomorrow. Perhaps you’ll join me and we can maybe even commit to extending the lull right up to the official conclusion of this cataclysmic year.

And there’s that gentleness showing up again, calling my name. Yours too, I bet.

Talk to the Tail – Photo: L. Weikel

 

(T-335)

Best Weekend Ever – Day 224

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Clouds – 20 June 19; Photo: L. Weikel

Best Weekend Ever

When it comes to weather, this past weekend has to rank up there in the category of ‘best ever.’ We just had two of the best days I can remember in a very long time.

Every now and then some ethereal clouds would pass across the backdrop of blue that dominated daylight both Saturday and Sunday. But they were really only decoration. Or perhaps visible cues that perfection is sometimes more perfect when disrupted by something unexpected.

And the breezes, oh my. It was warm out – in the 80s – but throughout both days, cool breezes would kick up bringing perfect relief before the warmth had a chance to sink in too deeply.

It’s trite, I suppose, to ‘talk about the weather’ when I don’t have much else to say. But really and truly, just as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, sometimes the best experiences or the most beautiful things or maybe even simply the most amazing people are available or happening to us right here, right now, right in the midst of our very own lives.

This reminds me of an article I just read the other day about, yet again, the healing power of nature and the value of being in nature. The article is about a hospital in Norway where patients can experience the joy and other benefits of being in nature while reveling in a cabin built in the woods and located within several hundred feet of the hospital.

Imagine if we could offer such access to Mother Nature to most patients. Heck, imagine how much everything could change if we could just get everyone in our culture to reconnect with the natural world. We would experience such a shift in perspective; I just know it.