Tag: Inspiration

Those of you who appreciate spending time in Nature, are vividly aware of the gorgeous little miracles taking place everywhere you turn.

I love the quote by Mary Davis who says “To Walk in Nature is to Witness a Thousand Miracles”.

The more aware we become…the more miracles begin to appear.

There is this beautiful blending that takes place, a sense of “anything goes” that continuously occurs amongst the elements. Mother Nature reminds us that everything is exactly as it’s supposed to be.

When you consider time outdoors as time well spent, it makes no difference where you are or which season may apply. A coworker of mine once announced (as I was complaining about the weather)…”there’s no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing”.  At the time, it made me laugh, but that saying stayed with me. Years later I still think of it anytime I’m contemplating whether to go out, or stay in on a cold, rainy day.

Have you ever noticed how Nature is in a continuous state of change? Not just season to season, but also from day to day, moment to moment. The grass grows, flowers bloom, snow falls, the sun rises, winds blow, the rain falls, leaves change color etc. There is a multitude of constant change and evolvement always taking place.

When you stop and think about it…its not so different from changes we experience within the seasons of our own daily lives.

We all know change is necessary for growth, the trick is whether we decide to embrace and accept, or reject and deny it! We are faced with consequences and alterations either way.

I have a beautiful friend who regularly reminds me… “Change is Inevitable, Growth is Optional” (John C. Maxwell).

But when a change is unwelcome or unexpected, the embracing/accepting part can be extremely difficult. We are not always prepared when a painful change occurs (such as a loss or a betrayal). There’s nothing easy or embraceable about it. In fact, we can often find ourselves stuck for periods of time, unable to move in any direction at all.  So we inch our way through the moments in between.

But I’ve learned that much like any turbulent weather pattern, eventually there’s a shift…the rain stops, the clouds part, and the sun comes out again.

I took a long walk in the forest with a friend a few weeks ago, a place filled with incredible energy and wisdom. I’ve always felt the trees are like wise old men. Let’s face it, they’ve been around a lot longer than we have and survived all kinds of  treacherous conditions. Whenever I am in their presence, they help me to tap into my own inner wisdom (something I forget to do from time to time).

So my friend I got to talking about change, not just ones we may be unprepared for, but the ones we know we need to make for our betterment. We spoke of the importance in knowing ourselves well enough to be able to realize when change is necessary. We agreed this involves getting real, looking deeper at what’s really going on within us…what our instincts are nudging us towards.

Deep down we all know what is no longer serving or fulfilling us, we just need to decide what to do about it.

Big changes mean big shifts…not just the discipline of say changing a habit, but possibly separating from certain people, or stepping away from things we are used to. I don’t know about you, but for me old habits die hard, I never find it easy stepping out of my comfort zone and into unknown territory.

By the end of the walk, my friend and I agreed that it’s SO worth it when we stay true to what we know is right.  Because when we plough through and get past the hard parts of change, there is this fabulous feeling of progress, strength, empowerment and freedom.

These feelings greet us on the other side as if to say “Welcome Home”.

Should you find yourself struggling to deal with change, be it one you want to instill for yourself, or one that showed up uninvited, I encourage you to spend some time in Nature.  Lots of time!

Find a place where you can to be alone and get immersed in the energy of the elements. A place with no Wifi and where time has no measure or agenda. We all have somewhere in Nature we connect with, be it the ocean, the forest, a lake, the mountains.

Go somewhere and unleash your thoughts, let them be free to roam.  Go where you can breathe in the open air and just “be” for awhile.  I promise if you connect with Mother Nature in this way, you will find some clarity and a true sense of balance.

Some days I think we just need to remind ourselves, that much like a tree…we have everything within us to remain strong and to withstand any and all changing conditions.

For today friends…this is The World as Eye See It