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Today's
Meditation:
One of the things that I notice regularly is that if I
neglect to go for walks in the woods or in the desert or
in a park somewhere, I start to get kind of crazy-- my mind
stops functioning properly, and things that really aren't
all that important seem much more important than they
are. I tend to get stressed out far too easily, and
I don't like that feeling at all. All it takes to
remedy it, though, is to get outside and go for a walk or
a hike or a bike ride-- the fresh air and the beauty of the
trees and plants and flowers help me to relax and to feel
more balanced, more calm.
What's really frustrating about this is how often it
happens-- how often I neglect my connection with nature and
allow myself to go too long without reestablishing that
connection. I get caught up in work, in life, in
living, in being busy, in obligations and
responsibilities, and this is an aspect of my life that
suffers from neglect when that happens. It's pretty
silly because I know better, but silly or not, I allow it
to happen.
Nature is a stress reducer, but we have to make an effort
to use it.
Painkillers are great for reducing pain, but if we don't
take them, they don't do any good at all. If I
never go out in nature, I never get the benefits of what
it can give me. The breeze through the leaves of
trees, the water trickling in the stream or rushing in the
river, the birds singing because they have a song, the
rain gently falling on the ground or the leaves or falling
strongly and loudly, the warmth of the sunlight and
coolness of the breeze on our skin-- these are things that
can bring us peace of mind and peace of heart.
Nature is a wonderful gift, one that we definitely
shouldn't turn our backs on.
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