Connecting with nature

It seemed only fitting after launching my blog last week to write a blog post about mental health awareness week. I enjoy looking into the themes each year and what is it this year? Oh yeah nature...brilliant. I kill houseplants and I’ve spent most of my youth in a concrete jungle. A ‘plant lady’ I cannot call myself as much as I would love to, it would be a lie. It’s not like I have a vendetta against house plants. I just cannot keep on top of looking after them, I struggle to remember to drink water myself. However, my surroundings have changed over recent years. I've seen more parts of our country's landscape and I found myself desperately trying to find peace within nature during these last lockdowns. And now when I need a moment to breathe I close my eyes and I go on a journey.

The crashing waves,

the clamouring seagulls,

the pebbles pushing aside my feet,

one dog, two dogs I’ve lost count of all the dogs.

The breeze that takes your breath away but you keep on walking because it makes you feel alive.

Kicking off shoes and socks and dipping your feet in the water.

Walking slowly along and looking out and thinking of nothing except this.

The waves.

The seagulls.

The pebbles.

The dogs.

The breeze.

The water.

This.

So I may not be able to keep a houseplant alive, although I've currently kept a basil plant alive for 2 weeks but by the time the post comes up I may have waved goodbye. I will endeavour to still look after it! However, when doing visualisations of my happy place I think about the beach near my mum and dad. We walk, we talk and we take in the surroundings. Sometimes nothing needs to be said in moments like that and it's an amazing time to feel present. Just simply taking in what’s around me feels good and it’s something I haven’t always done before. Some days I'm just thinking about where I am walking to or I am on my phone and I am not really giving myself any time to just go on the walk and switch off, which was really my main intention in going on these walks anyway.

Even though I am living in a city, I have come to find places of quiet and all of these involve immersing myself within nature. These places have allowed me to slow my thoughts down when things have been too much.  I figured out that whilst I may not connect with nature in the most conventional ways, I can connect with nature in my own way, a way which allows me to look after myself. Finding a space to switch off from my mind, from technology, from things that have happened and breathe.