“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Maya Angelou.

I’m writing this at the beginning of March. The sun is streaming through the window and when I look outside, I can see snowdrops and crocuses in our garden. Earlier today as I was walking the dog, I noticed the gentle breeze blowing through the trees and listened to the sound of birdsong. After a long, dark winter, spring is finally on its way!

We are often told that being outside is good for our physical and mental health, but I would suggest that it’s also essential for our spiritual wellbeing.

Ancient civilisations enjoyed a much closer connection with the natural world than many of us do today. The indigenous peoples of North America, the aboriginal peoples of Australia and the Celtic peoples of these islands are amongst those who saw the action of the Divine working in and through the natural world. They used different terms to name God and to describe their understanding of God. They practiced different rituals to mark the various stages of life and to acknowledge their relationship with God. And they clearly understood that the world they lived in was something to be appreciated for its beauty and bounty and was to be respected and revered. I should add that countless individuals and communities within the Christian Church and within other religious traditions, have a deep connection with the natural world and have done so over the centuries.

When I was a child I used to enjoy being outdoors but I didn’t really understand the natural world or feel close to nature. I didn’t see what many others saw; I didn’t understand the sense of awe, wonder and gratitude that many others felt. It was when I met my husband many years later that I began to look more closely at the world around me and think more about it. He introduced me to the wonders of the Highlands: the mountains and the glens, the rivers and the lochs, the wildlife and the plants and flowers, and I began to understand what Maya Angelou meant when she uttered the words quoted above.

I’ve met a number of individuals over the years who relate to the spiritual beliefs of the indigenous people mentioned earlier. Some of these individuals would rarely, if ever, venture into a church or another religious building or take part in any religious ceremonies. They would say that they encounter God outside buildings, not inside them. They would argue that being in nature brings them closer to the Divine, and that God reaches out to them through the natural world. They feel spiritually nourished when outdoors, which not only helps them with their physical and mental health but also enables them to engage more with daily life and the world as it is.

Being engaged with nature doesn’t only help me to feel physically and mentally healthier and more spiritually alive, it helps me to think more about the big questions of life. When I observe the changing seasons or the life cycles of the animal world; when I look up at a starry sky or feel tiny when on top of a hill looking out at the surrounding world, I reflect on what this says to me about being human, about the human life cycle, about the issues we face in the world today, and about the very nature of God too.

March 2024