How to Refresh Your Mind, Body and Spirit

It’s cold this October morning in Vancouver. 

I snug my jacket closer and take another sip of hot tea as I gaze up at the star-filled sky. Dawn is still an hour away, and the only sounds are the gurgling stream and the birds stirring in the nearby forest. 

I love the walkable city in Arizona where my wife and I live. The convenience. The restaurants, shops, activities, and friends.

But after awhile, I feel a pull in my spirit. A restlessness. An itch to wander beneath towering trees. To breathe clean, crisp air. To soak in the beauty and stillness of nature.

Here in Vancouver, Canada where our daughter lives, nature isn’t hard to find. The deck of our Airbnb sits on the edge of a primal-looking forest criss-crossed with trails. Stepping a hundred feet off the road is like being transported to Middle Earth.

I’m far from the first to point out the positive effects of being in nature. How it heals our spirits. Cleanses our minds. Awakens our bodies. But as clearly as I know this truth, I’m prone to forget it. The busyness of life, all its demands and distractions, pushes the need for time in nature to the back of my mind.

So I write this as a reminder to myself as well as an encouragement to you. Find ways to regularly spend time in nature. Stroll through a park. Take a drive to the country. Make the effort to get to a natural environment for a week, a weekend, a day, an afternoon, an hour. Go for a hike. Sit in silence. Soak in the beauty. Just be. If you do, you’ll find yourself refreshed in more ways than one, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.