It is now generally accepted that being in nature is good for us, in fact, being in nature is probably essential to our wellbeing.
Even five minutes sitting beside a gentle stream or walking into nature has a marked effect on how we are, especially if we remember to let all those niggling thoughts dissipate away, to invite silence into the moment, and to then turn our attention to the natural world around us.
There is something very powerful in doing this, for not only does it free us from the hold that our thoughts have over us, but this is a place which invites our curiosity and guides us seamlessly back into the present. For there is always much to see and experience, it might be something special like a secretive deer or a curious fox, or it might be something of the everyday, which in itself becomes special when we begin to look more closely, for every moment in nature holds its own beauty.
And to look up and observe the landscape is to find ourselves in a much larger living universe of which we are an integral part, offering us a comforting sense of belonging.
And then there are the sparrows
If you are wanting to see how nature can shift how we are, spend time with the sparrows.
For if being in nature is good for us, being with sparrows is even better.
I know this because there is a flock of sparrows that I encounter almost every day on my walks into nature, and while I am still far off, I can hear their joyful busy chatter which becomes louder and louder till I am close enough to stop for a while and watch them. From close up their chattering is just short of a racket, and they are always busy, so full of energy, jumping from branch to branch or flying around with seemingly random intention. For a while I am drawn into their lives, and when I eventually resume along my pathway into nature, I notice that my step is lighter, the sun a bit brighter, and the world is filled with just a little more joy.
And I wonder, are there any particular aspects of nature that bring a special kind of joy into your life?.