In Awe of Nature

Recently, I sat with my three-year-old niece and watched a bee visit the Salvia plant in the photo for 30 minutes. We enjoyed observing the tiny details of their hard-working bodies – the stripes, pincers, and fuzzy surface of their heads. She loves bugs and plants, and her curiosity and fascination is contagious.

This experience reminded me of a book I read called The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, which is about a woman who is mostly confined to bed due to chronic illness, so she observes and finds meaning in the slow movements and sounds of a snail that lives in her houseplant. I’ve never given much consideration to these creatures, so I felt surprised and moved by how a snail (!) opens her to learning and joy just through its daily existence. This book inspired my own commitment to observing the small animals and plants.

When I practice tuning into the small details in nature, I feel awe and peace. I am connected to something greater than my own busy mind. News of suffering and injustice around me Is endless and bleak, and the urge to escape is understandable. It might be easy to think, I can only connect with nature if I buy expensive hiking boots and drive to a remote location to seek out an expansive viewpoint.

But actually, I can allow nature to come to me in small ways – seeing the subtle colors of birds’ wings at the feeder outside the window, observing the shape of clouds rolling by, or noticing the veins of a leaf on my houseplants. During a particularly difficult period with migraine, I spent a significant amount of time just watching a tree branch blowing in the wind outside.

Watching and letting the minutiae in nature open me is a simple practice of reconnecting with awe, which energizes me for living my life with more purpose.

When was the last time you enjoyed observing the little things in nature? What would be possible for you if you spent a little more time in this practice?