5 Meditations On Nature To Help You Get Through Hard Times

How do you feel when you spend time outdoors? It might be difficult to describe in just a few words. There's the delight of seeing leaves repopulating trees, the olfactory surprise of smelling a rogue flower, the relief of feeling a cool breeze on a hot day. A kaleidoscope of fascinations makes our natural world the dynamic, transportive, and ultimately, healing, place that it is.

As the growing outdoor therapy movement1 shows, spending time in nature can help us solve problems, work through difficult emotions, and come home to ourselves again and again.

Of all the seasons, Turn to the Sun author and stress management trainer Brittany Gowan finds the most comfort in winter—not for its fluffy snow or crisp air but for its reminders of unseen progress.

"I personally love going to the community gardens in the winter, when all you see is the outline of what you know will bloom in the new year," Gowan tells mindbodygreen.

Nina Smiley, Ph.D., the co-author of Mindfulness in Nature and director of mindfulness programming at Mohonk Mountain House, has long headed outdoors to clear her mind, calm her body, and find spaciousness. But her connection to nature took on new significance after her husband of 45 years passed away.

Over time, it's easy to fall into routines that feel static and dull. This feeling gets reinforced when you stay in a static, dull indoor environment. Stepping outside is a way to access a sense of new and novel thanks in part to what architect Phillip Tabb, Ph.D., describes as "thin places."

I first heard Tabb talk about thin places during a visit to Serenbe, the well-being neighborhood that Tabb designed and resides in. He explained that these are places where we can connect to the sacred. In his 2023 book, Thin Place Design, Tabb refers to them as "spiritual experience thresholds," writing, "Transformative experiences in such places are not guaranteed, yet as the connection to the unknown or sacred becomes thinner, they are more likely to occur."

Stress is often accompanied by tunnel vision: We're so focused on the matters at hand that we forget everything else exists. Nature helps shake us out of this.

Gowan recalls when she worked at a high-stress job in Midtown Manhattan and relied on daily walks outside to cope. Even if she didn't make it to Central Park or an expansive green space, she found that something as small as a flower busting through the sidewalk could carry a lesson for her.

"When I see wildflowers in the city, I wonder 'How are you here?'" she says. "I think about how this plant is making its way in an unfavorable environment and finding a path forward. It's a reminder of our own resilience."

When you are in conflict with another person, Gowan encourages you to think about the social connection as if it were a flower. It may be a perennial; returning year after year with ease. Or, it may be a more fleeting annual. Either way, it's something to appreciate.