When I feel worried, tired or anxious about something, feelings most of us have every now and then, I know that those feelings arise from something I allow to bother me. I feel out of balance and not able to get real rest. Something in me has gotten out of synch, whatever triggered it.  And I don’t like feeling that way.

I know that such feelings won’t help me deal with whatever might need to be dealt with. They won’t help me to adapt, to forgive, to change things or to let go. They will just bring in negativity into my life because, essentially, they are expressions of negative expectations.

There are many ways of dealing with these feelings, many therapies. I am sure we all have tried some of them and they all have their benefits and rightful uses. One “therapy” that doesn’t cost anything has proven effective for me in many situations: connecting with nature.

Whether I find myself worrying about something “bad” that potentially could happen or when something I don’t like has already happened, I try to seek a place in the embrace of nature where I can still my mind, mediate and pray. And just connect with the oneness of everything.

Why does it work? I think that as soon as I find a place in nature that talks to me, I see myself more objectively, as part of creation. I can look at my fears without such a strong attachment to the subjective reality I experience or anticipate, and see my worries in a different perspective. And I will discover that my negative expectations or fears are unnecessary and unproductive. The nature touches me ever so gently to calm me down, to enable me to reestablish the connection to the very core of me. And at the core I find peace, always.

I think that those of us who spend time in the nature, whether walking, hiking, biking, jogging, skiing, rowing, sailing or just sitting on a bench under the trees or on the beach, experience the healthy effects of spending time surrounded by nature. Experiencing well-being produced by nature doesn’t mean that we need to be far out in an exotic location or in the wilderness. Nature’s therapies can be enjoyed in the park two blocks away and even in our own backyard.

If we can’t get out there, even looking at the pictures of nature’s magnificent creations, including the very tender, intricate details produced by nature, can calm us. That is, if we pause and let the pictures influence us.

Are you taking advantage of these affordable “therapies” for your well-being?

In all its many appearances

nature calls man

to come and enjoy

its soothing therapies

only for the price

of ensuring that

its possessions of beauty

will be preserved.