You’re walking on a sidewalk beside a busy street on a sunny afternoon. The sun plays hide and seek behind vanishing clouds while the wind dances with leaves. But you don’t notice.
You overhear the last few words of the conversation in front of you as you walk past a rose bush in full bloom. Its flowers spill onto the sidewalk. Eager hummingbirds and honey bees drink from its nectar. But still you don’t notice. You brush away the light tickle on your shoulder completely aloof to the beautiful butterfly that flies away.
Mother Nature always speaks but that doesn’t mean we listen. She lives and breathes and blooms and dies. She’s filled with emotion and lessons about life you can’t learn anywhere else. But we’re too busy to notice her let alone speak her language.
Yet our well-being depends on her survival. She determines whether we live or die. Is she intimidating? Yes. Unapproachable? Quite the contrary.
Here are three of our favorite ways to speak Mother Nature’s language:
MAKE ART
Instead of walking past that rose bush or those flowers scattered across the ground take a minute to create something. Let the soil be your canvas and every flower, leaf, and branch the details of your painting. Look around you and get your hands a little dirty. Gather loose twigs and dandelions. Survey your surroundings then spend 5 to 10 minutes arranging them in whatever pattern you choose. Your earth inspired artwork will awaken your inner child as well as brighten someone else’s day.
Challenge: Make art with the earth once a week.
WALK BAREFOOT
We spend the majority of our lives inside. We leave our homes and get into cars to drive from place to place (and building to building) rarely taking time to reconnect with the soil upon which these structures were built. Perhaps it’s time to take a step back…barefoot, of course.
Our planet has its own magnetic charge and we benefit physically and emotionally when we’re in connection with it. We need the Earth’s negative ions for vibrant health. But positive ions surround us, especially in large cities with millions of people using cell phones, TVs, laptops, microwaves and anything else with a power source.
Studies have shown that walking barefoot improves sleep, balances your body’s electrons, develops your senses, and improves your posture. Next time you’re outside ground yourself by walking barefoot.
Challenge: Walk barefoot for 5 minutes every day.
GROW PLANTS
House plants do more than beautify your indoor space. Among other health benefits they fight pollution and combat colds. They also make you a happier person. The presence of plants in indoor spaces decreases your chances of coughs, sore throats, fatigue, and other symptoms by 30%. Plants reduce stress and anxiety while boosting your creativity, concentration, reaction times, and attention to detail. Not bad, right?
Buy a few plants and watch them grow as you nourish them with love, water, and sunlight. Our kitchen is filled with Basil, Rosemary, and Mint plants that we use for cooking. And our balcony might as well be an Aloe Vera farm. We bought one Aloe plant a year ago and she’s created at least 10 additional Aloe plants.
If your green thumb is more like a murky gray and you struggle to keep plants alive, try succulents. They require little water and they’re not picky about their environment.
Challenge: Buy a plant for your desk to reduce stressful work days.
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How would you describe your relationship with Mother Nature? Are you soul mates or estranged best friends? Do you listen when she speaks or is it a one-sided conversation? Share your thoughts with us in the conversation box below.
xo,
Gabrielle and Italia
