My Personal Experience
I have been practicing mindfulness by spending time with nature.
One activity I did recently was I went outside and gave my gratitude to all of the different, unique trees on my campus. Lewis University is a nationally recognized tree campus, meaning the campus holds a large variety of trees and are properly maintained. One afternoon, I spent some time looking at a few of the trees I liked. I took my time observing them, examining the roots, trunk, blossoms, and leaves. As I observed, I reminded myself that it is vital that I give my full attention and appreciation to the trees.
One particular tree species that stuck out to me was the China Snow Lilac tree. As soon as spring came around, the bark on the tree began to peel away and what was under it was this new deep-brown bark that was very durable! It fascinates me that a tree could essentially shed its “skin”!
Another tree I enjoyed was the Red Maple tree. Its flowers are unique and hold a strong red color to them (hence the name). I have never seen flowers look like this before! It kinda looks like a flower with no petals and all stamens (the little bristles that poke out) which is kind of efficient I guess? Such a weird flower! Both of these trees have awesome attributes to them that I enjoy. When I give my gift of full attention to the trees, they return the gift and give me peace. At times when I am out of my mind, even a few minutes with the trees keeps me grounded. I love them!
There is a nature preserve on campus with a dedicated nature trail to go with it. Adjacent to the trail is a small river that’s steep off the trail. One random Sunday morning I decided to take a walk near that river. I had been doing homework the whole day before, stressing about deadlines. I spent some time out by the river, listening to its water flow and jumping around on top of rocks, until I stopped and noticed something. There lay a TON of garbage laying around in the river. Lots of small plastic bits and glass bottles. It peeved me in a way that felt like I needed to do something. It felt important to clean the area for the surrounding nature. There was a lot of both broken glass and fully intact bottles laying around. I figured I could clean the area and repurpose the glass bottles into some sort of project in the future. The broken shards I couldn’t do much about at the moment. There must've been like 30 glass bottles total, if I counted up all of the broken shards plus all of the intact bottles I collected.
After cleaning up the ground and carrying as many good glass bottles in a milk crate as I could, I felt amazing. I could feel Earth's smile aiming my way. It's so inspiring to know I can make a difference near me and that I can help the Earth in some way. Picking up nearby litter might be a new hobby for me from now on!
One activity I did recently was I went outside and gave my gratitude to all of the different, unique trees on my campus. Lewis University is a nationally recognized tree campus, meaning the campus holds a large variety of trees and are properly maintained. One afternoon, I spent some time looking at a few of the trees I liked. I took my time observing them, examining the roots, trunk, blossoms, and leaves. As I observed, I reminded myself that it is vital that I give my full attention and appreciation to the trees.
One particular tree species that stuck out to me was the China Snow Lilac tree. As soon as spring came around, the bark on the tree began to peel away and what was under it was this new deep-brown bark that was very durable! It fascinates me that a tree could essentially shed its “skin”!
Another tree I enjoyed was the Red Maple tree. Its flowers are unique and hold a strong red color to them (hence the name). I have never seen flowers look like this before! It kinda looks like a flower with no petals and all stamens (the little bristles that poke out) which is kind of efficient I guess? Such a weird flower! Both of these trees have awesome attributes to them that I enjoy. When I give my gift of full attention to the trees, they return the gift and give me peace. At times when I am out of my mind, even a few minutes with the trees keeps me grounded. I love them!
There is a nature preserve on campus with a dedicated nature trail to go with it. Adjacent to the trail is a small river that’s steep off the trail. One random Sunday morning I decided to take a walk near that river. I had been doing homework the whole day before, stressing about deadlines. I spent some time out by the river, listening to its water flow and jumping around on top of rocks, until I stopped and noticed something. There lay a TON of garbage laying around in the river. Lots of small plastic bits and glass bottles. It peeved me in a way that felt like I needed to do something. It felt important to clean the area for the surrounding nature. There was a lot of both broken glass and fully intact bottles laying around. I figured I could clean the area and repurpose the glass bottles into some sort of project in the future. The broken shards I couldn’t do much about at the moment. There must've been like 30 glass bottles total, if I counted up all of the broken shards plus all of the intact bottles I collected.
After cleaning up the ground and carrying as many good glass bottles in a milk crate as I could, I felt amazing. I could feel Earth's smile aiming my way. It's so inspiring to know I can make a difference near me and that I can help the Earth in some way. Picking up nearby litter might be a new hobby for me from now on!