Getting Outside: How Nature Is Good for the Spirit

Spending time in nature can be deeply grounding for the spirit.

Now that the days are getting warmer and the sun is shining more, we are naturally drawn outside. It’s refreshing, isn’t it, to get outside after a long, hard winter cooped up indoors. Whether you are doing yard work, walking in the park, or going on a camping trip, it’s more than just a change of seasons. Getting outside to enjoy nature is good for the spirit – and sometimes all it takes is a simple moment to feel it.

While there’s a lot of scientific research behind the physical benefits of enjoying nature, I’d like to focus on the spiritual benefits. As I sit to write about this topic, I find myself slowing down. My thoughts are clearer, and I feel more connected to myself. I am happier just thinking about touching a tree.

In fact, yesterday, as I was struggling with the direction I wanted my writing to go, I took my notebook into the yard, sat on the ground, leaned against a tree, and just paused. After a couple of deep breaths, I started to write, and the words just flowed out, as if something in me had settled..

Have you ever actually hugged a tree? Not just touched it or placed your hands on it; I’m talking full-body hug and hold. I have. And it’s magnificent! As I reach my arms around as far as they will go, I press my cheek into the rough bark. I take a deep breath and thank the tree for being there, for holding steady in a way I sometimes forget how to..

Usually, by the time I decide to tree-hug, I’ve had a lot of lofty ideas and really need to ground myself. So I hug, give the tree my stresses, and imagine my feet growing roots deep into the earth like the tree. This is such a good practice for releasing worries and coming back to myself. Unless, of course, you’re going to worry about what your neighbors will think when they see you hugging a tree. ;)

But that’s a different blog for another time.

For now, I invite you to go outside and open all five senses to experience the natural world around you. Breathe. Notice. Be grateful. And enjoy nature.