I had not planned it.
I walked slowly because I could not walk faster.
My usual fast pace became a slow walk.
The world around me went on as usual,
but I walked slowly forward.
All the sounds, from cars, from people, birds, bicycles, trains in the distance, dogs, were loud and made me walk even more slowly.
I remember that it felt unfamiliar in the body. To experience the world at a slow pace is different. It resists, somehow. I kept walking my usual loop at an easy pace.
The loop that usually takes 20 minutes to walk
now took almost an hour.
I noticed things I otherwise did not see.
The light between the trees.
The sound of the wind.
The birds' song and calls.
How the ground felt under my feet.
And somewhere there… the body began to relax.
It was a clear shift in myself.
I felt closer to nature; it nourished my soul.
I came back to myself, little by little.
That is how it began,
with a slow walk in nature.
I walked every day, the same loop every day, sometimes I changed direction so the brain would experience the loop as new again.
I began to notice that my experience in nature
made me more present.
I was in nature then and there and nowhere else.
To slow down in nature and actually be there.
That is what I today call nature-based presence practice.
To use nature to land in the body, and turn the attention toward what we see, hear, feel, smell and taste.
Not to do anything perfectly.
But to be allowed a while without demands.
To be allowed a while alone in nature.
To be close to nature undisturbed.
Perhaps it is something you also long for?
To be allowed to slow down.
To be in nature without being on the way somewhere.
Next time you go out into nature, you can try this:
Leave the phone at home.
Leave the watch at home.
Walk a little slower than you usually do.
Pause for a moment.
Notice:
- 5 things you see
- 4 things you hear
- 3 things you can feel with your hands
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste
This can be your first presence practice in nature.
Welcome out into nature!