Day 3 - Nature

I am fortunate to live in walking distance from the sea and that is by far my fvourite place to walk. The smell of the salty water has a very cleansing affect on the mind and automatically makes one slow down. At least that is the case for me. Today I go for 1 or 2 long walks, but I don't take the same route each time, so always something new to enjoy.

Spending time gardening is also very terapeutic. I had a wonderful garden while I was sick. Since I got anxiety and had trouble leaving my house to go for a walk, the garden became my therapy. But being a perfectionist it became too much and I ended up more stressed by the maintanence. The grass and weeds took over so in the end the flowerbeds were removed and only grass was left to mawn.....lol
We are moving as soon as we have a buyer for our house and the type of home we want is somewhere where nature is natural. More permaculture style.

Unless you live where the climate is warm all year around, it's not easy to have a regular outdoors morningroutine. You will need to be inside when it's winter etc. I'm having a hard time picturing myself meditating in the snow or doing my Chi gong exercises in a winter outfit....lol That is why I dream of a sunroom with lots of windows so it will almost be like being outside. And when it is summer there will be a patio just outside the room where I can do my routine.

On my daily walks I always have a camera with me and love to take pictures of anything that catches my eye. It's a very mindful thing. You stop and focus on a butterfly or a carterpiller or what ever it is that made you stop right there. Watching it move and just being in awe of how amazing nature really is. Taking some deep breaths and move along to the next amazing thing.

BUT, if you don't pay attention, these wonderful moments will just pass you by. I see people so caught up in jogging and listening to an audiobook or music. It's like they are afraid of the silence. But nature isn't silent, it is filled with sounds. Some are obvious and some you have to pay very good attention to be able to hear. Sadly, sometimes you need to get sick and start over to truly appreciate nature. So that's what I will continue to do ;-)