tuning to nature

Spring is in full fling here in the northern hemisphere, with bursting flowers and singing birds making nature all Disney, all the time.  Of course, those of you in the south are in the “wait a minute!” line, looking at the remains of coloured leaves and short, chill days.

So what if you’re not feeling supported by nature’s outbursts?  What if you’re decidedly hermetic, ready to withdraw from sunny spring up north?  Or you’re just bursting with inspired enthusiasm down south?

There’s something special that happens when we feel attuned to nature’s cycles. We feel in step with the Universe, in its manifestation in multiple species.  We’re in the flow, carried along by energies greater than our individual selves.

But life does stuff that can interrupt that flow.  You live 14 hours a day in a cubicle with a computer and then move through asphalt-land to find a soft spot to land for sleeping, so nature is irrelevant.  Your best friend dies and time just stops, along with the song in your heart.  Just as nature is gearing down to sleep, the project you’ve poured your heart and soul into takes off, and so does your spirit.

I can just hear those of you who are coming up on full-scale autumn now:  “But I don’t want to slow down and go into hibernation!”  Especially those of you ready to zoom ahead on your renewed enthusiasm for life.

No, you don’t have to find your inner bear and let it run the show.  But you do have to acknowledge it and give it its due.

So, how do we tune in to the natural rhythms of life when we’re out of step?  And how do we keep in sync when being tuned in is our natural tendency?

Easy peasy (okay, a little effort if you’re the cooped-up cubicle soul).   Pay attention to something in nature.

Are there birds you hear regularly?  Pay attention.  A tree you can watch change with the seasons?  Pay attention.  Animals who regularly cross your path?  Attention.

Yes, in the cubicle it can take a little more to have something to attend to.   Webcams gotcha covered:  eagles, otters, nature.

So, no, you don’t need to rev all the way up to the springtime party when you need time to grieve.  And you don’t need to dial down to hibernation when you’re cleared for takeoff.   Tuning in to the new life of spring will support you through loss to your own regeneration.   The slowing down of autumn will keep you grounded and help you find restful time-outs in the midst of new excitement.

Your connection to nature is your connection to the Universe in all its large- and small-scale splendour . . . . and every scale in between.