Take time for nature

Take time for nature

It's normal for many of us to be caught up in our busy modern lives, whether is be school, work or both leaving time for ourselves to be put on the back burner. I often fall victim to this, I must admit i put a lot of things on my plate. I have a job, I'm doing A-levels, I have volunteering roles, member duties of a political party etc. However, I have found one thing where I can switch off from everything and that is being in and around the natural environment. 
Don't get me wrong, most of what I do is enjoyable and to do with the environment. My volunteering is with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and most schoolwork I do is Geography. I enjoy both greatly. 

Nevertheless, this is not the same to being outdoors. Outside is where you can feel free -one with nature if you must. When I do take the time to go out I either go on long walks as well as bird watching, which I have a particular passion for. (I recommend the book bird therapy) Bird watching has been massively beneficial for my mental health as my focus is shifted away from the human world to the incredibly complex bird world. As I watch and listen I get to know what birds making what noise and what the behaviour they exhibit means. 

I bird watch whenever I can, even walking to the bus stop I take the long route across two muddy fields to get a glimpse of whats out and about albeit , its never something unusual - pigeons, robins, magpies, blue and great tits, starlings and black birds. But, the 'chirping', 'pewing', skwarking and 'cooing' of the birds exaggerate the beauty of nature. I also focus on the vegetation around me as well as the weather. During storm Ciara I went out for an hours walk and I think I caught a glimpse of a Siskin, which I got incredibly excited about! The weather on the other hand was horrendous though as I stood central to the field with huge gusts of wind and torrential rain. I again felt free, with a sense of awe of nature and how it can be so violent and powerful.

I think that nature and our natural environment is deeply underappreciated, So next time you are out walking, take it in. The  colours, shapes, sounds (particularly birds), the wind blowing through your hair, the temperature. This list is endless, but i stress that you that nature is not something we should take for granted. So take time for nature, take time for you.