Why Spending Time in Nature is Healing During Social Distancing
During this challenging time of social distancing, it is easy to think that our only connection to life is with people. While nurturing those relationships — in person and online — is extremely important, let us not forget that the natural world is also a trustworthy and healing source of companionship.
If you’re like me, you have been frequenting parks, beaches, reservations, and other open spaces — even a walk around the block — in order to get out of the house and find some safe air to breathe. Maybe you have also noticed how much better you feel afterward. Yes, relief from cabin fever and the endorphin release with associated exercise are two reasons. Yet, I think there are a few others worthy of noting that we can hopefully carry with us through and beyond this pandemic.
The natural world knows nothing other than to be itself, and it invites us to do the same. An oak tree does not try to have cherry blossoms. Rain knows only to fall. The ocean tides go in and out with clockwork precision. Leaves surrender to their death in the fall without a fight. There is something very grounding about being in the presence of life that is completely surrendered to itself in such an accepting and affirming way.
I don’t know about you, but I often find myself striving to be something other than who and what I am. The coronavirus pandemic has added to this feeling, as I feel stripped of many of the normal roles that give me a sense of self — most notably my work and my relationships. In any case, I rarely feel good enough, and sometimes I get so lost in seeking some better version of myself that I completely abandon the only one I already have.
Nature reminds me to sink into my own skin and find my home there. I need that message, particularly when I am plagued by voices inside and out that tell me I need to be someone or something else, or when the roles I fill on a daily basis are not currently accessible to me due to social distancing.
Nature bares witness to us exactly as we are and reflects our deepest identity, without asking anything of us. Think about how the air gives itself freely to our every inhale, or about how water constantly conforms itself to our shape. Ponder the trees, and how they reach out to us with their branches while remaining firmly rooted in the ground, always awaiting our next visit.
I truly believe that we need to be seen from the inside out by another person or living thing, for how else do we know ourselves? The natural world inherently does this for us, serving as mirror of the foundation of our very being. In its vast and timeless essence, it reflects who and what we are, but often cannot give words to. That sense of awe we feel when gazing over a mountain scape or sea shore is like Nature saying, “I see you!”
What we notice… notices us. How else would we recognize it? As Rumi wrote, “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the ocean in a drop.” Particularly during a time when we are so distant from one another, we need the presence of nature to remind us that we are seen and known, that the world has not forgotten us.
Nature is inherently mindful, inhabiting only the moment at hand, and entrusting itself to the next. Think of the spring flowers that are currently blossoming, or of the recent days of clear blue sky that have been blessing us with sunshine and light. Part of me has been wondering why they are doing this! “Don’t you see there’s a deadly virus going around?!” I have wanted to scream at them. “Where is there new life in this situation?”
Yet the flowers and Nature in general do not carry the burden of human consciousness, and they draw me to a deeper eternal wisdom that reminds me that all things are both passing and cyclical. By embracing only the present, nature declares all of life as trustworthy — just as it is — and thus faithful in informing my next step.
It’s hard to view anything about life during this pandemic as credible, but all circumstances have important messages within them inviting us to listen more deeply. For me, this pandemic has been refining my priorities and magnifying the importance of self-care — most notably time I spend in nature.
As we make our way through this challenging season of isolation and uncertainty, I invite you to welcome nature as your friend. She is present in the elements and in the various sanctuaries around you. As poet David Whyte writes, “To be lonely is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.” May you find nature to be that companion who accepts you as you are, bares witness to your being, and declares your life — both current and beyond — to be eternally faithful.
