It's early morning, the rhythmic fall of raindrops on the roof gently wake you from your sleep. The first light sneaks through the edges of your blind with the notice to start your day. The pull of the warm sheets and silence from the usually noisy birds is enough to entice you to stay in bed… but you don’t. You get up, stretch your limbs, sip freshly squeezed lemon water and begin your day.
As you move through your home opening the blinds, you notice the rain paints everything in a light mist. Light floods into your home, inviting you to leave lights switched off and enjoy the ambience of the late autumn days. There is a calmness about it, the richness in colours of the leaves and flowers. They’ve been washed clean.
It’s the weekend and you had planned to get outdoors but the inclement weather has you thinking otherwise. Perhaps you will just pick up a book or do some baking you think, but you know that you won’t. You usually end up binging Netflix and finishing loads of washing started some days ago.
You are determined to change, you journaled about it so why haven’t you done it yet?
Change is a challenge.
You need to make the choice.
To be determined and accept that at times it will be uncomfortable, hard and test your will.
Human life is not devoid of suffering but rather what we do with the anguish we face. How we can turn a negative experience into a powerful lesson.
We have a choice over our actions and these actions determine our quality of life, our quality of health. Health isn’t just movement, nor is it just nutrition or mindset but rather a combination of all these; Health is Holistic.
When we choose to challenge ourselves through the choice of our actions, we are rewarded with feelings of confidence, self-efficacy, and empowerment. We learn that by placing ourselves in uncomfortable positions, such as a hike on a cold, rainy day, we not only accept the given conditions but we feel invigorated, revitalised and a newfound appreciation for our comforts post-hike.
Building these moments whereby we welcome the uncomfortable improves our ability to effectively handle stress. It enhances our resilience, strengthens our mindset and allows a deep connection to ourselves, to our bodies and brings awareness to how we sit with uncomfortable situations. Our awareness is the invitation to change.
Our human desire for only pleasurable, positive experiences has made us more susceptible to anxiety and stress. Our aversion to the undesirable inhibits what can be the most transformable experiences that resonate throughout all aspects of our lives.
Before we are ‘educated’ by our parents, children have a natural instinct to find joy in these moments. To dance in the rain, face to the sky, jump in puddles and create pleasure in getting dirty as possible. As adults, we need to relearn this. To reignite the childlike wonder in which we interact with our natural world.
Nature has a way of putting things into perspective. Her expansiveness speaks to us on a cellular level and resets our bodily systems when we reconnect.
The washing is folded and put away, the remote has disappeared so you decide to grab your boots and head out for a walk. The light mist continues to fall outside in a hypnotic, unhurried way. The smell of the rain, the trees and the natural world lands in your lungs with each deep inhalation. The depth of colours in the leaves and flowers slow your pace as you marvel at their beauty. Your outreached palm facing to the sky catches droplets and you watch as the circle grows then magically disappears before another land and starts the dance again.
The cool air on your face creates alertness, awakens you to your senses.
The shower in nature has washed your senses clean and with it a sense of calm overcomes you.
Now rest...
** Please note you should NOT going walking in severe weather conditions such as Thursderstorms, particularly in heavily treed areas. This is a conversational piece intended to inspire you to walk in the rain and less than ideal conditions. **