Being in Nature

When is the last time you had an amazing weekend ?  When you came back from a weekend trip and you felt you are your best ? You feel  appreciated everything you have ? You feel grateful that you are alive?

 

Recently I had similar experience just the past weekend when I returned back from the weekend trip from Kings Canyon and Sequoia national park.. I noticed that I have more energy, my spirits are high , everything I do has a true joy. I even feel energized to come back to work. And even it inspired me to write this blog . In short  I felt more vibrant and alive.

And this is not the first time. Every time I come back from a trip from any of national parks Yosemite or Kings Canyon or Lassen park, I felt that healing, soothing power of nature. So today I have decided to talk about an amazing power and impact nature has on your wellbeing.

First of all let me explain how Nature resets/refreshes and rejuvenates  our mind-


We think that we go to nature not to escape life but so that life comes back to you. 
In my 2 days trip to Sequoia , The giant sequoias , the magnificent mountains with the shades of grey, purple , yellow and orange , breathtaking waterfalls, I felt that mother earth unveils a sea of beauty and noticing that beauty, experiencing even a tiny of drop of it, it brings  that sense of appreciation, grateful ness thankful ness , that we are alive and able to enjoy the pleasures of life. These are real pleasurable that can touch our minds. It exfoliates the mind, takes out the layers of dread skin from mundane life to make shine the inner soul, which is pure and authentic. It also makes you feel that what an tiny place you have in this large world. And in that grandeur  scheme of nature, we lose our mind to find our true soul. The power of being in nature helps to cure all the bad moods, wipe away our worries and ground your soul.

Secondly nature teaches us to Connection to our surroundings and I would like to share my personal experience for that. Spending weekend with Family in home and in nature is not the same. My athletic 8 year old, mostly spends time with dad for physical activities like basketball and cricket while I am busy with my weekend chores. However, when it came to hiking near to the waterfall, he discovered that mom has better skills than dad and we two, son and mother due went together climbing rocks and trees , crossing the streams , holding each other close  the fall and experienced that togetherness and chill when the mist of the chilled water touching our faces. He even posed for pictures and smiled and happily took pictures with me , which was unusual !! That was one everlasting memory on our minds. This opportunity of bonding was never happened in home spending time together when mom does her chores and 8 year boy mostly spends his times in the outdoor activities with his friends or dad!!

Now let me tell you something more, Nature just not refreshes our mind and body but there is something very spiritual in spending time in Nature. Imagine yourself warming you're the body on a sandy beach  or inhaling the fresh air in the woods or fields, brushing the cold fresh air on your face and hair, soaking your feet in the  chill or warm clear water in the lake or river , or just watching the stillness of the sky full of stars , there is something spiritual about those experiences.  There are no trends, no expectations, and you are free to ponder life in its purest form. This experience of joy , happiness and a bliss is eternal, everlasting and surreal.  I also feel happy when I shop , when I get that cute dress that really love in the sale, I feel the joy and I feel top of the world. However, that joy lasts after few days, after I catch the sight of another lovely dress. The point here is the joy and happiness we experience from materialistic  things does not last  long. In fact it takes you in the state of wanting more and more. The joy and happiness being in nature takes you in exactly opposite state of mind. You feel complete, blessed and grateful for whatever you have.  This reminds me the story of the happiest man's shirt that my grandfather used to tell me. When an unhappy , richest king asks the cure for this unhappiness to the wise man, wise man asks him to exchange his shirt with the happiest man on the earth. After searching a while, the unhappy man finds the happiest man on the earth, who is a poor woodcutter cutting the woods happily in the woods, but he notices that he does not have a shirt. 

Well, we can't spend all of my life in woods, but what I have learned in these summer trips that whatever is my "to do list" ,  spending time in nature on a regular basis is  the best tonic for the wellbeing of mind , body and spirit!  nature refreshes our mind, connects us to your true authentic c soul and give us that eternal sense of bliss and appreciation. 

Now labor day is just around the corner. What are your  plans for the long weekend?  It doesn't matter if you hike up a mountain, or stroll on a sandy beach,  or just simply sit and watch a sunset- in your backyard , spend some time in nature and take advantage of the mental, physical and spiritual benefits nature has to offer.  

I would like to leave you with the quote of John Muir-

"Keep close to nature's heart…and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean"