Nature is alive. Everything in nature lives. Do you look at nature in this way? Do you see nature as a living being instead of just ‘the environment’? Do you see the life in the trees, in the flowers, in the grass, in the animals?
Seeing the life in everything, is seeing that everything is a miracle.
Do you see everything is growing, changing, blooming, fading? Do you see the life cycle, the seasons, how everything unfolds at the right time, in the right order?
Looking at nature in this way creates some awe and wonder.
We are living in a living world. The Earth is alive. And as with every living being, it has to be loved, nourished and taken care of to stay healthy.
Nature takes care of you, loves you, might lift you up when you are sad, or might calm you down. Nature might open your heart by her beauty, by being there for you – unconditionally – she connects you with yourself, with the silent peaceful place within you.
We also have to take care of nature, show her our love the way she loves us. Treat her like our best friend, like family.
Do you remember a special moment you have had in nature?
What did you see? What did you smell, what did you hear? And how did you feel?
What is the most beautiful place in nature you have ever visited? What did it look like?
How do you feel when thinking of this place again?
Experiencing nature with all your senses, connects you with nature. It makes you aware of her beauty, purity, her sounds and fragrances, her wild presence, her peaceful energy, to name just a few.
Another way to fall in love with nature is by cultivating gratitude for nature, by being thankful for all she gives you:
Your breath
You can practice gratitude right now. Just by breathing in and out. Focus on your breath. Feel how your lungs are filled with oxygen when you inhale, and how you let go when exhaling. While you are doing this, feel gratitude for the oxygen that fills your lungs. Oxygen you need to be alive. Oxygen that’s been generated by the trees, the plants. Give thanks to these trees and plants.
When exhaling you could breathe out love. Giving exhaled air back to nature so she can use it again to make oxygen of it.
Breathing in… gratitude,
breathing out… love.
Experience what you feel while doing this.
Food
When eating, you could give thanks to the food you eat. Thank Mother Earth for her abundance, for taking care of you by providing you food to live.
Example
Imagine you are eating an apple. It comes from a tree, rooted in the Earth, feeding itself with soil and rain, with sunlight. Flowers appeared on the branches of the tree. Bees came to pollinate the flowers. Flowers turned into apples. And now you are eating this apple. Given to you by the Earth, after a chain of things that had to happen in the right order, at the right time, under the right circumstances. Isn’t this a miracle?
You could give thanks to the sun, the soil, the rain, the tree, the air, the bees and all other elements of nature that made it possible for you to eat an apple.
Water
When having a shower, when drinking water, when swimming in the ocean, when it is raining (and so on), you could give thanks to the water.
Other gifts of nature
What else is nature giving you? What does nature mean to you?
Is it silence, beauty, wisdom?
A place to quiet the mind, to relax, to go for a walk?
Is it love, abundance, joy?
Whatever it is, you could give thanks for these gifts nature is giving you.