Let Nature Remind You

I often find that spending time in a natural environment helps to bring me back to the present moment. Walking in a forest is a favorite pastime and it never fails to leave me feeling refreshed and refocused.

I also find that simply observing nature is a great way to remain mindful of how precious life is and of the incredible power that each moment brings. If you notice a houseplant in the morning, it will be leaning towards the window that receives the morning light. If you look at it again in the evening, it will have moved towards the window that receives the afternoon light. Any yet… if you were to sit and watch it all day, you would be hard pressed to notice any movement!

I find the same thing with a sunrise or a sunset. If you spend five minutes watching the sun break over the horizon, you will be astounded at how much our planet rotates in only five minutes! And yet in the course of our hectic days, we barely perceive any movement of the sun through the sky. Every time I see a sunrise (or a moonrise for you night owls) I am left with an acute sense of the importance of every minute of the day! I’m filled with a renewed sense of respect for the time that I’ve been given and the last thing I want to do is waste a moment of it on the trivial things that so often clutter up our lives

Now that we are about to enter autumn (my favourite season) nature again provides us with an excellent display of the power of time. Have you ever been out in the fall and suddenly said to yourself:

“When did all the leaves change color? They weren’t like that the last time I looked!”

Well, the leaves don’t suddenly change color all at once. Just like the houseplant doesn’t suddenly swing around in another direction all at once. It all happens minute by minute

I would like to suggest an exercise for each of us to help fine tune our appreciation of the power of time. My suggestion is to pick a tree (not an evergreen) that you are able to observe each day. It could be in your yard, on your street, or along your commute to work. The important part is that you are able to observe it each day. Starting tomorrow – notice the color of this tree. Do the same for the next day and the next and so on, until the tree has no leaves left. This exercise has two benefits. First, you will be sure to witness one of nature’s dazzling displays as the leaves change colors and eventually come to rest on the ground. Second, I’m quite sure that taking a moment each day to observe the rhythm of life being acted out in front of you will help you appreciate each and every day that you are given. I know that it works for me!