The benefits of spending time in nature

Every once in a while, it's good to spend some time out in nature to sit still and listen to its sounds, like the wind rustling leaves, or to hear the chirping of birds and the buzzing of bees, hear the burbling of a brook, and the scuttling sounds of small woodland creatures as they go about their way. All these bring peace to one's spirit and create a state of serenity, allowing us to feel one with nature, and in doing so, we get a chance to really listen to our inner voice, the voice sadly drowned out by the deafening roar of a chaotic world. We forget to commune with ourselves, a connection vital to understanding how we truly feel, to get a sense of ourselves. This connection is sometimes lost in the daily hustle and bustle of just trying to survive day after day, behaving like automatons, that we lose a bit of ourselves little by little, only to one day wake up unable to define who we are.

An English artist named Andy Goldsworthy, a sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist, is quoted as saying, "We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say we have lost our connection to nature, we have lost our connection to ourselves.''

Let us make time to commune with nature and through it, connect with ourselves once again. It's worth the time to sit still and listen to our inner voice, for it is our most powerful ally in this physical world.

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hippyjoe1955 · 70-79, M

Many years ago I was out in nature and heard a sound I had never heard before. It was night and I was watching the most spectacular Norther Lights I had ever seen. Only later did I learn that I had been listening to the Northern Lights

LilyoftheValley · F

@hippyjoe1955 How awesome it must have been to see the northern lights and to actually hear the sounds they emit! I saw a video describing it as some form of a cracking sound and is believed to be due to the disturbance in the magnetic fields. Apparently, the Aurora creates electrical charges and as they bounce off the ground, something like static electricity is produced and they create sounds audible to some people. I think it's amazing.

hippyjoe1955 · 70-79, M

@LilyoftheValley Yes the best I could describe the sound was someone walking through dry grass. Kind of a rustling sound. Very soft. I see the northern lights all time so that wasn't unusual. What was unusual was how fast they were moving and how colourful they were that night. Like I say I didn't realise the sound I heard that night was the sound of the lights until I described the sound to someone else and they told me it was the lights. I have never heard them again but then again I now live in a city where the city lights drown out most of the stars.

LilyoftheValley · F

@hippyjoe1955 You're one of the lucky ones to experience the Northern lights' sight and sound. I hope I can one day experience it too😊