Mother Nature as a Teacher

There was a time in my life when all activity took place indoors.  I went to the gym regularly and spent many hours lifting weights, riding stationary bikes, and running on the treadmill.  Looking back it amazes me to think about how little time I did spend outside, and how I hibernated through the colder seasons.  

Once I was introduced to group cycling and got a taste for being active outside, I couldn't imagine relegating my fitness endeavors to indoor spaces.  I had a need to be in motion and in nature.  Suddenly all the seasons began to hold appeal, and I started to take up new hobbies that allowed me to appreciate the beauty of even the coldest days.  Running became an all-season sport and the thought of it taking place on a treadmill was one that I rarely ever entertained.  Instead of trying to avoid the outdoors, I craved being outside more and more; being unable to get my fresh air fix often resulting in a lingering sense of being unsettled and edgy.  

What I have discovered lately, though, is that being outdoors and being in nature are two very different things.  At the end of January I was introduced to cold dipping in the lake, and my relationship with the outdoors took on a significant change.  Suddenly instead of being "nature adjacent" I was literally and figuratively immersed in nature.  From that first experience of walking into the frigid water and feeling its prickles along my legs, I was hooked.  Something inside of me sighed "this is what I have needed all along".  And Mother Nature became a teacher, providing wisdom in daily doses.

With each trip to the lake I am never sure what I will find.  I have seen nature in all of her moods - furiously whipping waves against the shore, timidly peeking her sunrays out through dense clouds, lighting up the dreary skies with an explosion of unbelievable intensity, and sometimes just beconing us into her serene, crisp, and glass-like expanse.  I have also begun to notice the smaller changes that take place - the subtleties of when sunrise takes place, each day just a few minutes earlier than the last, and the speed at which the sun actually rises in the sky.  All things I had glossed over and allowed to pass me by as I was busy checking off a box about getting in my outdoor exposure time.  I have felt a shift taking place inside of me as I have allowed myself to surrender to this unknown quantity in my days.  I have finally started to exhale in times when I am faced with uncertainty in other aspects of my life.  Instead of being caught up in the worry of what's next, I remind myself that whatever does come to pass will be something I can work through when the time comes.  Until then I can be present in the moment at hand and absorb and enjoy the known quantity that is infront of me.  

Having a front-row seat to the strength and persistence that exists in nature has allowed me to look inwards to find the same inside of me.  It exists within us all.  We just need to slow down and allow ourselves to find the seedlings that are looking to stretch and grow.  How we feed these tiny green shoots will be unique for each of us, but I do believe that allowing ourselves time to really be in nature is a necessary first step. 



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