I don’t know about you, but for me
Nature Inspires
Look at the leaf below. I found it on the path I was hiking on in Wolsfeld Woods before winter’s early arrival. The colors and shapes on this leaf amaze me. Nature painted it. All I did was notice it.
I played around with leaves in early October in preparation for an art group meeting that I led. I had hoped to combine leaves and watercolor painting with simple projects. Though I found lots of ideas online, most of those ideas did not work out the way the online articles suggested they would. At first I felt a bit discouraged.
But then I realized, life is an experiment that never ends. The only way that we change and learn is to be willing to risk failing. And, if I am enjoying the process instead of focusing on results then even if my results are not what I wanted, I had the joy.
“I don’t believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.” —Oprah Winfrey
I’m still playing with leaves, as the remains from my early experiments trail through all of the spaces in my dining room studio. I simply cannot throw the drying leaves out — yet. I’m sure I will but right now I’m holding onto fall despite the snow-covered ground outside my windows.
Though the temperatures plummeted during the past week, I’ve gone out to hike as often as I can. And I hope to continue going out in nature because it inspires me every single time I go out. Even simple walks in our neighborhood, which has many paths through park areas, lifts my spirits.
In these days that run up to election day I am finding that being in nature helps calm me as well as inspire me, but I also need to practice mindfulness. The following resources have been helpful to me.
Listen to meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg, being interviewed by Krista Tippett on the On Being radio show. It’s called Shelter for the Heart and Mind.
How can we keep walking forward, and even find renewal along the way, in this year of things blown apart? How can we hold to our sense of what is whole and true and undamaged, even in the face of loss? These are some of the questions Sharon Salzberg, a renowned teacher of meditation and Buddhist practices, has been taking up in virtual retreats this year, which have helped ground many — including Krista — on hard days. She teaches how to stay present to the world while learning kindness toward yourself.
— Intro on the On Being website to Shelter for the Heart and Mind
And if you enjoy Sharon Salzberg you might enjoy this essay, What to Do When You’re Frozen by Overwhelm.
May nature inspire you. Wishing a beautiful day.
May you walk in beauty.
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