The blue tits flash by while I’m in a moment of rest, my eyes softly observing the trees. Their presence has an almost instant uplifting energy response in my being, like little shots of joy. Their existence sparks such a sweet and delicate cocktail of felt experiences.
I also feel this with the robin, though the robin creates more of a heartfelt surge response. The blue tit triggers a light and friendly, kind and sweet response within my being.
Isn’t it amazing, the power of living things? When was the last time you really tuned into nature?
Each being, be it a bird, insect, mammal or plant, carries such a signature. Noticing your internal responses to life is a process that takes time for many. Overly consumed with the mind’s need for stimulation and entertainment, we have lost this capacity to connect.
The journey into the body and subtler senses is a practice. We all long to feel fully alive and yet days can pass without even noticing the blue tit.
The living world contains everything and more than you could ever need. When I drop into observing and merging with nature, it teaches me to be in a slower, deeper and more connected space. When we are used to a lot of hard-hitting extreme experiences, the subtle often gets missed.
In all the rushing and doing, taking time to pause and notice the living world around us is an invitation into the deeper mysteries and purpose of being a human. If you want to know if you are embodied, notice how much you are able to observe while simultaneously feeling what’s going on in your body. As you attune to this way of being, you will at first notice the noise of your mind, like an annoying TV on full volume.
In the middle of your moment with the blue tit, you can turn down the volume of your internal TV by tuning into your senses, to the sounds and the space of the breath moving in and out, the feelings in your being. Can you take space in your experience fully?
Coming into the body can be hard, as often there are many emotions, from grief to anger. Then there’s the pain, the aches that frighten us with their intensity, where the being with the blue tit feels suddenly so full of existential pain.
We, as humans, need to heal; and slowing down and being in the arms of Mother Nature are some of the best medicines I know. And they are free. There are so many ways to explore the journey with nature as your teacher.
One of my favourite things to do is begin a walk with a question, something that perhaps I’m wrestling with.
As I walk, my mind is usually the dominant energy as thoughts randomly move past. I forget, then remember my question. I tune into nature for the answer. What is present for me on this walk? What teaching lies hidden from my discovery?
Is it the dead oak tree standing so proud on the hill, that has managed to survive? Does it have a message? Or the flash of the blue dazzling sparkle of the kingfisher as it darts past? What mirrors are there for me to witness in nature as I allow my question to be met?
With what I notice, I begin to transition out of the confines of my mind, whose never-ending thoughts impede my deeper longing for a sense of belonging and connection. Nature brings me home. Often, it moves me to tears as I remember to feel and to be with what is. Every time, my mind becomes still and as I walk, I am just in deep gratitude and awe for life.
“How one walks through the world, the endless small adjustments of balance, is affected by the shifting weights of beautiful things.” Elaine Scarry
I feel a sense of resilience as my body moves, the air penetrating deeper into my cells – and the aliveness of nature opens my heart and my senses. From here, I do not seek much. I feel a sense of enoughness, a deeper respect for the cycles of time. I learn to trust the process I am in.
I give thanks today to the blue tit, this joyous creature that jumps into my sight and reminds me of the profound gift of life, and the extensive menu of aliveness I can experience as I tune in. It really is a feast for the senses.
My love for nature makes me feel grateful every day for the opportunity to be alive in this beyond beautiful world. As I love and appreciate nature, I love and appreciate myself. It’s so simple and yet so true.
“I was born by the sea… my first idea of movement of the dance certainly came from the rhythms of the waves.”– Isadora Duncan