Nature is an amazing teacher that has so much to offer us. By observing nature, we can gain profound insights and learn invaluable lessons that can help us live happier, healthier, more meaningful lives. Here are some of the key things we can learn from nature and how nature inspires us:
Contents
- 0.1 Appreciate the present moment:
- 0.2 Practice patience:
- 0.3 Express gratitude:
- 0.4 Practice equanimity:
- 0.5 Simplicity and beauty go hand in hand:
- 0.6 Waste nothing:
- 0.7 Cooperate and collaborate:
- 0.8 Find optimal balance:
- 0.9 Renew yourself:
- 0.10 Every being has a role:
- 0.11 Learn from mistakes:
- 0.12 Practice non-harming:
- 0.13 Trust the unknown:
- 0.14 Honor diversity:
- 0.15 Adopt natural rhythms:
- 0.16 Take time to play:
- 0.17 Be resilient:
- 0.18 Allow imperfection:
- 0.19 Live with authenticity:
- 1 The Bottom Line
Appreciate the present moment:
Nature is always fully present in each moment, never dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Trees don’t lament the falling of their leaves each autumn or fret about whether new ones will grow back in spring. They simply let go and trust in the cyclical rhythms of life.
When we spend time in nature, it invites us to come into the present, to set aside our regrets and anxieties, and experience the beauty and aliveness of this moment.
Practice patience:
Nature takes its time to grow and unfold. A mighty oak starts as a tiny acorn and grows strong and tall over decades and centuries. Nothing is rushed. There are natural cycles and seasons to everything.
When we tap into this patient essence of nature, we can counteract our cultural tendency towards speed, hurry, and instant gratification. We remember that things have their natural timing.
Express gratitude:
Mother Nature ceaselessly provides for all her creation. The sun shares its light and warmth, trees convert sunlight into food and oxygen, and rivers quench the thirst of the land.
The entire natural world is built on gift ecology, each part giving of itself to support the whole. When we spend time in nature, we remember the blessings we have been given and feel inspired to live with greater gratitude.
Practice equanimity:
Nature treats each being equally and with respect. The sun shines down equally on all beings without discrimination. Nature provides what each being needs, no more and no less.
By following nature’s lead, we learn to approach each experience without harsh judgment and with equanimity, accepting what is.
Simplicity and beauty go hand in hand:
In nature, beauty isn’t dependent on complexity. The shape of a single leaf, the perfect form of a seashell, and the dance of honeybees – these are examples of nature’s simple yet sophisticated designs.
Nature effortlessly demonstrates that true beauty comes from basic forms arranged with balance, harmony, and unity.
Waste nothing:
Nature has evolved to make use of every resource. The fallen leaves become food for the soil. Old trees provide nesting places. Nothing goes to waste.
We can try to adopt this zero-waste ethic in our own lives by reducing, reusing, repairing, and recycling.
Cooperate and collaborate:
Nature is a master at symbiotic relationships and group intelligence. Trees share nutrients through underground fungal networks. Bees work together as a hive to find food and pollinate plants. Wolves hunt in packs with different roles.
In nature, the group is as important as the individual. We are inspired to see cooperation in nature and translate that into teamwork and community-building in our lives.
Find optimal balance:
Nature is always seeking dynamic balance and harmony. Predator and prey populations ebb and flow. If a pond gets overgrown, it evolves to maintain just the right balance.
We can strive for balance in our own lives between work and play, activity and rest, and the inner and outer worlds.
Renew yourself:
Nature shows us that after every winter comes a new spring. The cycles of nature convey the wisdom that difficult or fallow times are always followed by renewal.
When we feel stagnant or stuck, nature inspires us to wait patiently for new growth.
Every being has a role:
Every creature in nature has a part to play in keeping the whole system healthy. Rivers transport nutrients, birds spread seeds, and insects pollinate plants.
We each have our own unique role to play in life’s ecosystem. By discovering and inhabiting our role, we support ourselves and others.
Learn from mistakes:
Nature is flexible, adaptable, and creative when faced with challenges. Life finds a way. A tree sprouting up from cracked pavement demonstrates the perseverance of nature to always overcome obstacles.
When we get rigid about things having to be a certain way, nature inspires us to flow, change, and grow.
Practice non-harming:
Wild animals hunt for food, not sport. Trees soak up the sun and share soil nutrients cooperatively, not competitively. The beings of nature take only what they need and use resources responsibly.
Consciously or unconsciously, nature aligns its existence with the highest good. We are inspired to minimize unnecessary harm through our actions.
Trust the unknown:
Every acorn “trusts” that an oak tree lies within it, even though it has never seen this future potential. Nature operates with confident faith in unseen realities and possibilities.
When the unknown calls to us, nature gives us courage to answer and learn how to grow.
Honor diversity:
Nature thrives on diversity. Every locale has an array of unique plants and animals that have adapted over time to local conditions. This diversity of life forms creates richness, resilience, and beauty.
We can celebrate both human diversity and biodiversity.
Adopt natural rhythms:
Night follows day follows night in an eternal, predictable cycle. The phases of the moon and the seasons come and go with rhythmic certainty. Plants open and close their petals in sync with these cycles.
When we resist natural rhythms or overload ourselves by overriding these cycles, we suffer. Getting in sync with nature’s rhythms brings health and tranquility.
Take time to play:
Birds seem to be having great fun as they dart and soar playfully on the currents of wind. Dolphins leap in joy through the ocean waves. Nature is full of creatures that frolic freely for the sheer delight of living. Their example reminds us not to take life too seriously.
Making time to play and enjoy beauty feeds our souls.
Be resilient:
Nature is innately able to heal itself and adapt to change. Forests regrow after fires. Animals evolve to survive new conditions.
We too have a remarkable capacity within us for resilience, recovery, and growth when faced with difficulty. When we feel overwhelmed, nature’s resilience can inspire our own.
Allow imperfection:
No two leaves, branches, or snowflakes are exactly identical. Every natural creation carries its own imperfections that make it unique.
Nothing in nature is obsessively precise or flawless, and everything is still utterly beautiful. Being in nature helps liberate us from an unhealthy striving for perfectionism.
Live with authenticity:
Trees reach for the sun, rivers flow downhill unapologetically, and birds build nests using what’s available nearby. The beings of nature are true to themselves.
They live their lives in accordance with their innate essence, not afraid to fully be, do, and express what they were created to.
The Bottom Line
Nature has so much wisdom to offer us – these are just a few of the timeless lessons and sources of inspiration we can glean by getting outside and observing nature closely and contemplatively.
Immersed in the natural world, we reconnect with truths we have forgotten that are pertinent to living a happy and purposeful human life on this planet. Nature is the ultimate teacher if we open our senses and our hearts.