Resilience and Nature

The pandemic has brought great stress and uncertainty into our everyday lives. Many struggle to maintain a sense of calm and perspective while our sense of normalcy is challenged.  While being asked to distance ourselves from family and friends, we may need extra support and resilience to meet these troubling times.

Nature has the power to be that profound support, to calm us, to lift our hearts and teach us about resilience in adversity. This is the reason people for millennia have sought refuge in the natural world. And when paired with contemplative meditation, nature becomes a support for wisdom, joy, nourishment, and ease. It is transformative and life-saving.

These practices are not, however, limited to the “great outdoors.” You can practice meditation in nature anywhere: in your garden, on your deck, or while simply looking out a window or gazing at a plant in your home. Each allows you to connect to the power of nature’s stillness and wisdom.

According to the book, The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, modern technology is now revealing what goes on in our brains when we step outdoors—and why nature is so good for us. Even a house plant can make us feel good. Today, technology is allowing neuroscientists to take some of their measurement devices into the field, like portable EEG units that are capable of measuring brain waves away from the lab. Neuroscientists, especially in the U.K. and U.S., are starting to look at how people’s brains respond to different environments. What they’re seeing is that if their volunteers are walking through a city or noisy area, their brains are doing different things than if they are walking in a park. The frontal lobe, the part of our brain that’s hyper-engaged in modern life, deactivates a little when we are outside. Alpha waves, which indicate a calm but alert state, grow stronger. When psychologists talk about flow there seems to be a lot of alpha engagement there.  Buddhist monks, meditators, are also great at engaging alpha waves.

The following are ideas for cultivating calmness, resilience, and mindfulness in nature:

IDEAS FOR PRACTICING OBSERVING

• Go outside and sit, lie down, or stand still in an area. Observe as many sounds as you can. Try not to label what you are hearing, but simply pay attention to how many different sounds you hear.
• Sit on a bench in a public area like at your local park, beach, or outdoor shopping center. Watch who or what go by in front of you without following them with your vision. Just notice people and objects coming and going.

IDEAS FOR PRACTICING DESCRIBING

• Look for things in nature (examples: flowers, leaves, rocks, animals). For each thing that you find, practice describing it in as much detail as you can. For example, what color is the object? Does it have a texture? How would you describe its size? Shape? If you can pick up the object (don’t try this with wildlife please!), try to describe the feel of the object in your hand.
• Lie down on the ground and watch clouds in the sky. Try to find and describe patterns in the clouds that you see. Do not include interpretations or opinions (such as, “that cloud reminds me of a cat, I hate cats.”) Just simply label and put words to what you see.

IDEAS FOR PRACTICING PARTICIPATING

• Go for a hike, a walk in your local park, or a walk in your neighborhood. Throw yourself COMPLETELY into this activity of hiking or walking. Become one with your experience of walking and GO WITH THE FLOW. If you catch yourself thinking or describing what is going on around you, bring your attention back to fully participating in the act of walking. Focus on walking, and only walking.
• Participate in nature with awareness of your connection to the universe. Find a tree to sit beneath and lean your back against it. Focus all of your attention on where your body connects with the tree. Think about how this tree serves a function in your life and how you and the tree are similar in this moment: the tree is providing support for you to rest your body; you are both being held up by the ground beneath you, taking in oxygen from the air around you, and being warmed (hopefully!) by the sun above you. Take a few moments to fully participate and enjoy this connection.