Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect to your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique natural beauty. Keep growing.

Joanne Rapits

Who couldn’t stand to take a bit of advice from nature? This is just one of the reasons why I love this quote.

Have we lost touch with the natural world all together? I ask this question to my students a few months ago, and they were quick to say yes which worried me. So we stopped and dropped everything to go for a mindful walk. Nowhere to be. No assignment to do. Just enjoy the beauty that surrounds us each and every day and reflect.

There are so many lessons to be learned from spending a day hiking through the woods or an evening beneath the stars, yet we are so busy with and bombarded by our new found technological advances that these lessons frequently go by the wayside. But what if we didn’t let them? What if we disconnected from tech a little bit each day to meditate on what our surroundings have to teach us? Listen closer. See more clearly. Be present. I think we’d all be a little more at peace. How about you?

Mindfulness Challenge:

As you go about a walk you take every day, (from your car to your work, bedroom to home office, etc.) can you approach this familiar path with a curious mind? What sounds do you notice that otherwise would have faded to the background while you multitasked with your thoughts? What little details do you notice about your environment as you take in the visuals with a keen eye? Discovering something new in the mundane keeps our brains sharp. Will you do your brain that favor today?

Your musings are always welcome in the comments! 💕