The Nature Connection: Finding Peace and Perspective

Let the Verse Flow: Personal Growth Thru a Creative Lens

This city girl is deeply connected to nature. Mindful walks in nature are a core way to add richness and “right thinking” to your life. In this episode, I talk about an early, profoundly moving natural experience that shaped my deep love of the ocean. This life-changing event would connect me to the ocean for the rest of my life. From Cape May, New Jersey to Oahu, Hawaii, I share how my experiences swimming near and around ocean animals have brought me peace and perspective. I also explore these questions:

• What’s our connection to nature and how can it add meaning to our lives?
• How can we draw inspiration from our early ancestors and from different cultural beliefs to connect with nature?
• How do we bring nature into our lives to help us face challenging times and broaden our perspective on those challenges?

After this episode, I hope you start seeing that local park, wide open field, lake, ocean, or mountain differently. I hope to inspire you to bring nature closer to your life. Connecting with nature will likely help you feel more “yourself,” through the quality time and inward reflection it promotes. Use the resources below to cultivate a nature connection.

Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.

Want to reengage with yourself and put creative self-care back on your to-do list? Head over to my website: lettheverseflow.com and sign up for my free newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape. Three times per month, I’ll send you 3 essential, hand-curated links/resources on creative self-care tips, tools, and strategies.

Poem: The Living Thread

Music: (My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and share it with the world. All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.)

Songs in this episode:

The Forest Floor by Shimme; Slide by GEMM; Early Morning Birds and Wind Tumbling Leaves by Soundstripe; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters

Resources:

Forest Bathing and Shinrin-Yoku

Evolutionary Connection to Nature

Nature-Connection Benefits

Native connection to Unci Maka–Mother Earth

LTVF Season 2 Music Playlist: Check out the songs that inspire me, and connect with artists from many genres who add to our collective, human soundtrack.

Journal Prompts

1. Which of your senses do you get most pleasure from and how is your sensory system engaged in your favorite natural setting?
2. Pick up a few items from your next nature walk and write about what you chose to keep and why. How are you connected to these items?
3. Write about a childhood memory you had in nature. How did this nature connection affect and change you?

Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com