“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel       with their own hearts.” - Albert Einstein

From Kingfishers to Shooting Stars - tuning in and fading out

It has occured to me that some people go through life never having experienced the wonder of the simplest things that surround them. Two of the most awe inspiring gifts of nature are to be found daily.

The flash of the brightest blue catches your eye, you stop, pause, wait a while and  the form that created that flash emerges before you. A Kingfisher is one of natures most wonderous sights. A gift that lets you know you have found the pace - you are in step with the flow of nature. In tune with the earth itself.

If your mind is busy, full of stuff, then you find your ability to 'tune in' and 'see' is limited. Find a space to see clearly, it will bring many benefits. We cannot solve complex issues without the space to allow our thoughts to float and tumble, to move to a new level. If constrained by stress our ability to rise above immediate concerns is stilted and we struggle to find a solution or a way forward.

Use nature and beauty to distract you, to take your attention to a more peaceful and rewarding place. Focus on the tiniest of living things and you allow your mind the opportunity to reconfigure - to shift its focus and develop space to think and create.

Stand at the waters edge and look - really look in to the water. See how many perspectives you can see, the depth of the pond or the reflective surface; both hold a visual feast. Take stock and appreciate how many ways you can see one body of water - marvel in the way you can shift from depth to surface. This is a great insight on how you face problems, how you view the things facing you on a daily basis.

Scan the cornfield - appreciate the gold, the rustle of the stems, the sway 'to and fro' of the corn. Now look again, look deeper, notice the flowers that sit amongst the corn, look into the gold and you will see other colours, the red of the stray poppy. Take a micro view and see the beauty and symmetry of the ear of corn, take the macro view and see the soft furry sweep of the field. Your focus allows you the benefit of many images, differing perspectives on one field of corn.

These exercises really help you to tune in, to shift focus, move perspective and stall the chatter of the mind - you have a tool kit right on your doorstep.

In the space of one day, we move to the evening skies - the inner calm that is to be enjoyed from gazing up at the night sky.

To drift amongst the expansive mass of the galaxy is a humbling experience, it puts your worries and concerns in to perspective. To enjoy the splendour of a starry sky is to lift your senses to the highest level - one that takes you up and out of yourself.  To sit or lie looking up ,shifts your whole dimension, to one of weightlessness and infinity.

The shiver that runs down your spine as you see an arc of moving light, the shooting star passing through.

You hold the sense of awe -  to have things moving around you on ground level and yet to drift up amongst the skies to have things moving above you - to place yourself in the midst of all this unniversal activity. To feel like the tiny ant scurrying along.................

Through ego, stress or worry we can blow ourselves out of all proportion - we become the sole focus of our world. Our mind is in a constant state of chatter - talking and analysing and blocking out the things that will help us to find perspective.

This focus on self is to deny ourselves of the wonders around us, to enjoy the synergy with nature, with people with the unniverse.

Use nature, use the things surrounding you to find a way to stop, to take stock, to shift perspective. Use the skills needed to spot the wonder and beauty in the natural world to help you shift perspective, find peace, gain energy and tune in to a wider field of vision.

All around us, we have a connection to the energy of the earth, to nature itself, stop blocking it and find a way to release that force in your own life.