Spend More Time With Nature To Discover Yourself
While advocating for the restoration of ecosystems in the name of conserving Earth’s natural beauty, we forget to consider the good the planet itself can do for us.
This year the celebration of Earth Day seemed especially urgent because we remain at a crucial point in fighting the impending ill-effects of climate change.
According to a report by the New York Times, the United States’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy and industry declined by more than 10 percent during the past year.
Although the pandemic gave the environment a chance to catch its breath, we have been reminded that taking sincere and devoted action is not a fantasy but an attainable goal.
Yet at times, our awareness can feel rather shallow because nature has proven to be beneficial to us as well.
Before quarantine began, staying in was never a problem for me and sometimes I even preferred it. However, as the long days of the pandemic continued to stretch out, I developed a sudden exasperation with the four walls in my room.
Coincidentally, a set of walking trails opened up at that time behind my father’s apartment complex.
That’s when I began to go on regular walks early in the morning when my only company was the wild plots of wetland left untouched beside an otherwise busy intersection. But the silence cleared my head and left it in a peaceful state for the remainder of the morning.
Since then, there hasn’t been a week I haven’t stepped outside even if just for a few minutes. The outside air manages to expand beyond the confines of my mind and gives me a vast space for self-reflection and simple moments of unrestrained thought.
These simple strolls have greatly impacted my transformational process and improvement as a human being this past year.
The beauty of self-reflection that the Earth offers should be more appreciated by others.
Whenever possible, I urge you to take a moment to immerse yourself in our planet, whether it may be by hiking, resting under a tree or simply feeling the breeze.
We depend on nature for both physical and spiritual survival, so look for its comfort everywhere you go.
