What Happens When You Tune Into Nature

An underrated blessing

Sometimes I like to keep quiet. Not so that I can avoid listening to my endlessly daunting thoughts, but so that I can listen to the voice of somebody else for once. The voice of somebody in particular who’s always been there for me, but may not have received the same attention in return.

The “somebody” I am talking about is Mother Nature. She who lurks behind every scene, walks along every step, and is in every breath we take. She who knows how to show her reactions not in ambiguous verbal communication but through the pure act of being.

Recently, I started my second term at university. Much like most campuses, mine is filled with a variety of natural life, including trees, flowers, leaves, forest animals and rivers. On my daily commute to class, I walk past what I like to call a natural kingdom, filled with immense beauty that I wish I could spend more time studying.

For so many of us, a large part of our daily routine involves crossing paths with nature in one form or another, whether that be while walking towards our workspace, college, gym or supermarket. We come across it, but on a number of occasions, we fail to interact with it.

Surely, we may be inspired to take a picture of a flower that caught our eye, gaze at the sun for approximately five seconds, or admire a few falling leaves. But that’s about it. Rarely do we actually pause and reflect on nature with full intention. Truly wholeheartedly invested in wanting to engage with what is in front of us.

In a society that takes pride for its hustle culture, quick ways have become triumphant skills. Drive over the speed limit, grab a ready-to-go coffee, buy a pre-packaged lunch and bypass each stranger you walk past so you’re the first to reach your destination. Being fast and efficient yields rewards, or so we’re told.

But when I’m surrounded by nature, that stressful human perspective appears to want to change into a relaxed natural one. As I stand amid a trail of trees in a small forest, I am drawn to letting my guard down. I am called on to abandon my human suit and apply nature’s gown, assimilating me with the rest of creation.

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