In today’s aberration of a normal world, I make a point of regularly talking time to step out for a moment of meditation in nature. To stay sane amid the gradually deteriorating sense of normalcy, it just takes a hike into nature to compose myself and find peace and tranquility – and a sense of the unchanging timeless regularity of a healthy environment. Getting back into nature is a sanctuary for us all.
It depends on where you live and what lifestyle you pursue of course, and we are scattered all over the planet in such vastly differing circumstances, that it may be different for each person as to how we find a sense of balance and good health in our lives. I have chosen to live outside of the main cities, and since there is plenty of space and coastline in my location of sunny South Africa, it’s quite easy to situate myself in a healthy environment.
I never imagined society would get to unhealthy overnight, with the current global conditions. Choosing to situate myself at a fairly remote seaside town has been the best long term strategy, looking back in hindsight. Wherever you are, I recommend getting out of the big cities which are full of pollution, if you can. Working form home is much more conducive to peace of mind.
And if that home can be in nature somewhere, then you have the best of both worlds. Our priorities have changed rapidly over the past year and now travel is limited and health is apparently more delicate. I have zero health problems and I attribute it to living in a healthy environment, surrounded by fresh sea air and lots of open space.
Here you can see the nearby river after some good rains. It creates such a fantastic and inspiring location to come and contemplate a blissful mindset. I’m able to feel reconnected with nature in a healthy way. Life seems normal and unchanged when I sit at the stream and watch it erode away at the rock, and I realize that this same river has been flowing for centuries undisturbed.
Such slow and spontaneous natural circumstances remind me of how little has changed over centuries in some parts of nature, and could carry on for hundreds of years further into the future. This gives me a sense of continuity and also a sense of how fleeting our existence is on the planet in our short human form of life.
The erosion of the river bed takes place over centuries, yet we come and go in a fleeting moment, like an insect who lives their entire life in a matter of a few days compared to a human lifespan of many decades. It’s all relative, and the only constant is change. This really helps to put our current socio-political situation on this planet into perspective.
By stepping out of the rat race or the mass of society and coming to sit by the flowing stream, tapping into the stream and getting into the flow, I really find peace, and the activities of society become less demanding. And the more time I spend out here in nature, the less important society and their demands and peculiarities appear.
Actually one could go live in the forest, and years may go by without you noticing any differences in the rest of the world. The madness of civilization is sometimes blown out of proportion. Of course not everyone can retreat to the life of a hermit, but the occasional daily retreat – even just for a few hours – is a token gesture toward keeping the balance and maintaining ones own center and sense of normalcy.
What is considered “normal” is usually imposed upon us by the social trends of the culture we live in. And as we see today, those norms are directed by the government and commercial industry. Overnight what was good can be considered to be bad and vice versa, whether we are talking about standards of behavior, language, narrative, perspective, health and nutrition or any such subject that impacts on how we live and what we choose.
The norm shifts according to the desires of those in power at the current time in history. But when I leave society behind and come to these unchanging natural places, I am reconnected with the timeless and the unchanging reality. Social constructs and impositions can fall away, and my natural instincts and mindset and consciousness can manifest. I can settle in to my true sense of self and normalcy.
Of course if you are in a freezing country with snow-swept conditions, it may not be as easy to relax into the peaceful nurturing arms of Mother Nature, but here in sunny South Africa I can do it every day of the year. So I recommend situating yourself in a healthy environment conducive to balance in body, mind and soul.
Tap in to the timeless beauty of the healthy outdoors, even if it means relocating to better climate. Such long term lifestyle shifts will ensure a better foundation upon which to build your permanent state of consciousness that you personally choose, not one that is determined by society or bad weather. Get the basic decisions right and the rest will follow.
(photos my own)