As a father of two growing boys, snacks are a big part of navigating the day. The day, especially the weekends, when we are together the whole day, often seems organized around feeding them. As an adult, I can keep myself fed on food, but I struggle to keep myself nourished on nature. Too often, I have had the mentality of needing nature feasts to get any benefit. The time, commitment, and logistics would make this an overwhelming undertaking and I would end up with nothing. However, in 2018 I started to learn that I can gain from the restorative properties of nature with nature snacks during days and weekends.
Daily outdoor activities can be mundane or with some appreciation, observation, and intention can be rejuvenating. The choice is always available. This year, I started practicing being in control of that choice. In whatever I was doing, I could find and then focus on the nature around me. Looking up at constellations and listening for the neighborhood owl helps to transform the evening dog walk from a chore to a night hike. When watching the river flow past me, a walk out of my office building to get lunch lets me think about where the river started in marshes and bogs a hundred miles away and where the water is headed out to the Atlantic Ocean.
When I go for a run, I can do the same thing. Even though, I rarely leave my subdivision, I can choose where my eyes and attention goes. I could look at the houses and of my neighbors, think about so-so’s lawn, new car or, these days, Christmas decorations start comparing them to my own and come back home physically worked, but mentally diminished. Or I can choose to place my focus on the trees, the spaces around the houses, the unclaimed areas between the manicured. In doing so, I can in effect Photoshop my setting into a more preferred one, transforming my run to one that physically and mentally recharges.
The other Saturday morning I went out for a run. We haven’t had any snow yet, but temperatures have been in the 20’s – 30’s and flip-flopping across the freezing point. The night before it had created a freezing fog that left a layer of frost across everything. In that run everything glistened in the late-rising sun, and it was hard but to not focus on the trees, in fact the reflections off of the frost where constantly drawing my attention to even particular branches and twigs of individual trees. With focus and practice, can I do the same with the buds of spring, the leaves of summer, or the colors of fall?
The cooler temperatures draw more animals into our subdivision and with the shortened days, I’m often running with the sunrise. This gives me a chance to see more animals – mostly deer and turkeys – while I am out. Most of the time we just silently acknowledge each other as I run past, sharing the our brief common experience of the cool winter morning. Again, times like these prompt me to reflect on the animal and their existence, and in turn, helping me to put my worries and concerns into perspective.
This past year, also brought with it a renewed appreciation of my local parks. These are mostly county owned parks. Many are quite functional. As a resident, I appreciate the opportunity for food, drink, music, playgrounds and such available in the parks, and while modest, these parks offer walking trails and many, paths down to the beach along the Lake Michigan. There are three ways that I’ve enjoyed these parks more. First, in practicing for adventure races this year, I developed routes to bike between runs in these local parks. By combining seeing multiple trails in one morning, they each became part of a longer journey, each piece adding up to something more. Second, I started applying the same techniques from my neighborhood to walks in my local parks as well. The extra attention to my surroundings helped me to notice and appreciate each park for what it was and what it could offer. Finally, I did more exploring of corners of the parks off of the trails. While not extensive, these steps off of the trail pulled me away from anyone else, and offered some views without man-made obstructions. Finding and visiting these alcoves of nature offered one more way to recharge with an hour of nature.
With nature snacking even your neighborhood, local parks, and walks to lunch can be a source of reconnecting with nature and its rejuvenating properties.
This is the first post in a short series of posts in which I explore this and related concepts a little further.