Photo by Stephen Ellis on Unsplash

Take yourself to a place in nature where you can walk. A park is fine, if you’re in a big city; if you’re in the country, the world is your oyster. When you are ready to begin your meditation, find a suitable place where you can start: a gateway, between a pair of trees, through a set of overarching branches – you decide. Let go of anxieties, and focus upon one pressing concern that you are going to take to the solution of nature for the duration of your walk. Your intention is to seek connection with the green life of nature and ask for help or guidance about your issue, so think about this before you step forward and ask for that help.

Begin your walk, noticing whatever comes to your attention as you go. Sometimes, a particular plant, the shape of a cloud, the song of a bird, the rustle of a bush, the apparition of a butterfly or the smell of a flower can be the messengers of nature. When something strikes you deeply, stop and consider it, relating it to the issue in your heart. Don’t try to figure out what anything means – just accept it and hold it loosely in your heart and mind. The trick is to be receptive to your surroundings and to acknowledge them respectfully, just as you might greet a person you meet upon the road. Each element of the natural world can mirror – and help you reflect upon – what moves you.

Continue your walk until you feel that you’ve come to the end. You’ll have a good sense of this. Before you go home, give thanks for the help you’ve received, even though your conscious mind may not have a clear or rational grasp on what has happened. You will notice that you have an altered perspective on your issue and that, in the next few days, you will feel differently, and perhaps begin to feel your way to solution.

Source: “The Green Man – Spirit of Nature”, John Matthews

Such an easy exercise, isn’t it? But are we able to take time to do it? Are we not ambitious to ‘get over’ the more difficult things in life?