Finding Peace of Mind in Nature

I’ve spent the last week and a half coping with my father going from the hospital to a nursing home. This has been an opportunity for me to clean through 37 years of stuff … in many cases because I need to get my hand on a document or item.

This stress has meant that I haven’t spent much time outdoors; in some cases, I didn’t even look out a window for hours. I pushed myself this weekend to make time for my walk. I have to admit that there is so much stuff going on in my head (to do lists, questions for the nursing home) that I walked but saw nothing. Today, my head cleared for moments so that I actually noticed squirrels and birds and insect-chewed maple leaves.

Encourage your children, whether they are two or twelve, to discover that nature can be a refuge for confusing feelings. While teaching them this, you too will develop this habit if you do not already possess it.

Don’t wait for your child to experience turmoil over an argument with a friend or a bad grade or another disappointment. Practice this stillness activity when your child is in a happy or relaxed mood so they will be receptive to the activity.

Activity 1: Find a quiet spot where there is someplace to sit – lush grass, a boulder, a log. Sit so you cannot touch anyone else in the group, giving each individual their own space. Move no body part but your neck, which will allow you to turn your head from side-to-side. Announce that everyone will sit still and observe for thirty seconds or five minutes or whatever works for the child’s age and temperament. That’s it. After the allotted time, stand up and walk a bit. If desired, everyone can discuss what they observed.

Activity 2: For a more active experience, each person walks without speaking to anyone. Set your feet quietly on the ground, trying to pass silently until you reach that rock up ahead on the path or for a set amount of time.

Both activities encourage observation and, perhaps, a bit of quiet reflection. When you child is used to the activities, and you know he or she is sad or disappointment, encourage the child to go outside, even if it is in the backyard, as opposed to allowing your child to brood in their bedroom. Your child may or may not feel better outside, but it is worth the try to get them to notice what is around them and not just what is going on inside their head.

Listening to Nature Activities

Perhaps it is the time of year – the birds are singing but the trees are still bare so the sounds of nature stand out particularly sharp. Visual details capture my attention. When I take tests about learning styles or the various intelligences I inevitably “fail” as someone who takes in information through the auditory sense.

I’ve tried to learn to bird by ear, but it is an ability I lack. I’ve learned some of the mnemonics – for example, white throated sparrows sing a song that sounds like “Sam Peabody, Sam Peabody,” but it took me years before one day I heard a familiar, but unidentified, song and it suddenly occurred to me that I was listening to something very much like a bird singing “Sam Peabody, Sam Peabody.”

The following activities don’t require that you or the children you are with identify the sources of the sound; however, they do make you more aware of the sounds around you. You can do these activities anywhere outdoors – backyard, schoolyard, forest, field; preferably somewhere manmade sounds don’t entirely overwhelm the sounds of nature.

Sound Map
Each person starts with an index card and a marking pen (because markers don’t require as much pressure as a pencil or pen to leave a mark). Draw an “X” in the middle of the card. This represents the individual. As each person detects a sound, he or she draws a dot indicating where they think that sound is in relationship to where he or she is sitting.

For the individual who thinks they know what is making the sound, they could instead draw a simple picture of the plane, bird, wind in the trees, etc. that creating the sound. Natural and manmade sounds should all be noticed and recorded. Do this activity for five-to-ten minutes.

Sound Pictures
For this activity, you’ll interpret sound into an image. The image consists of geometric shapes, no need to draw a bird if you think you hear a bird or a plane if you hear an airplane. In fact, you’re better off if you don’t name the things which are making the noises you are drawing.
So, the chatter of a bird becomes, “- - - - - - - - - - - - - - .” The wind, at that moment, may sound like, “~~~~~~~~~~~;” the rain on the leaves, “``````````.”

As for me, when I take my morning walk, I hear a bird’s song and look for the source, “Oh, a robin.” Moments later I hear another bird and scan the trees, “Oh, a robin.” Ten minutes later, more birdsong and, yep, another robin.