Nature’s wonder

Living in Southern California, we’ve learned how to appreciate every drop of rain that comes our way.  Give me a good rainy, cloudy sky any day and I’m a happy camper.  This sentiment often puts me at odds with my fellow, sun-worshiping  SoCal-ites, but regardless, I love the rain.

I love how it makes me feel peaceful, content, nurtured.

And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my garden loves the rain, too.  As I was telling my 4-year-old great niece during recent rains, “Avery, if you listen carefully, you can hear my garden singing because it loves this rain. Can you hear it?”  She looked at me with those big beautiful blue eyes – with either wonder or fear that this woman is completely wacko, possibly a combination of both, in them – and said “No, I don’t hear anything.  What does it sound like?”

Aww.  That’s pure, sweet wonder – of nature and of a child. Both are beyond measure.

Like I said, in Southern California, we know how to appreciate every drop of rain.  With only a few inches of recent rain, the hillsides are emerald green and awe-inspiring.  This scene even made a drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic enjoyable. With good music playing, I took my time and took in the sights with delight.

One of the most precious gifts that this phase of life gives us is the opportunity to slow down a bit to appreciate the life all around us.  To find wonder again and marvel at it – like a child.

If we just take the time.

I know that spending time in my garden always makes me feel more peaceful and connected. Whether it’s with a cup of coffee in hand or dirt under my nails, the scents, the textures, the sounds are calming and uplifting at the same time.  Somehow I feel an embrace there.

I believe most of us know and accept that nature has considerable healing powers, yet maybe we don’t make enough time to enjoy its bounty, to immerse ourselves in it’s beauty and let the stress roll off us.

In fact, we’ve known of these healing powers for decades.

Have you heard the term “forest bathing?”  It describes the practice of getting into the woods for body and mind renewal in order to counter lifestyle-related health issues.  In 1982, Tomohide Akiyama, who was then secretary of the Forest Agency in Japan, coined the term as he became convinced and began recommending nature as a transformative practice for the benefit of the human body and psyche.

The tradition was already ages-old in Japan, but naming it went hand in hand with his agency making formal recommendations for best practices: one should walk, sit, gaze, and exercise among the trees!

Makes sense, don’t you think?

And whether or not you have time or access to a forest or an ocean, there’s always a city park, a quiet walk down a country road, or even better, your own backyard or garden. I’ve even found calm just paging through a beautiful book about gardens.  The pictures transport me into such gorgeous surroundings that my mind is immediately soothed.

Could that be considered forest bathing by proxy?  Just a thought.

My favorite poet, Mary Oliver, who sadly passed away recently, immersed herself and her poetry in nature and its wonder.  Here’s one of her most beautiful lines:

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

I was the bridegroom,

 taking the world into my arms.

                                               From “When Death Comes”

Sigh.

While we’re on the subject of nature’s wonder, let’s also pause and remember to give back to the Mother that has welcomed, nurtured, protected and comforted us all our lives. In return, let’s nurture her for all the young lives just unfolding to enjoy.

Everyone deserves, and needs, the wonder of nature in their lives.

So, let me ask. When was the last time you gave yourself the gift of time to ponder nature’s bounty, nature’s wisdom?

When you do, do it through the “wonder lens.”  Who knows? You might just hear  gardens’ singing.

Till next time,

Judy