If you are looking for the quick fix, the free solution, and just an easy way to feel better, go outside. I mean it. When you take yourself outside you immediately have a different experience of your life. Your problems which seemed so big while you were in your living room, are much smaller in the outdoors where the sky is so far away and your problems are much smaller in proportion to the landscape.
When I go outside I immediately feel the need to take a big breath. I may not have even realized I was holding my breath or breathing shallowly, but in that moment I feel the relaxation begin to penetrate. As I take the time to really tune into the sounds of nature, the colors of the flowers and the birds, and the feeling of the breeze on my skin, I am in another world. This world that I have just entered is not yet filled with my worries. I am in the present moment, simply noticing, not judging. And I am at peace.
That was quick. That was easy. That was free. I know that many of you are experiencing very painful life challenges and you may feel insulted by the ease with which I say you can feel better. I do know that grief will still be within you, but it may be just slightly less intense. If you are ill, you will still be ill, but maybe the possibility of feeling better will arise within you. And if you are afraid about a lack of money, at least you can see that nature will still be there for you. You don’t have to have money to be able to sit in a park or walk through a patch of trees. This is a gift from heaven for all of us, and so often we don’t even take the time to appreciate it. Go outside–take your deep breath–allow yourself to be soothed and calmed. Let your senses be filled with the present moment and the possibility that life holds. God’s gift is precious and powerful for all that will allow it to work its magic.
