8 Ways to Connect to Nature When You Can’t Go Out
Connecting to nature is one of my lifelines and inspires my activities in every way. And yet, I can’t go out that much. This week I want to share my experience of remaining connected to nature while being cooped in, for those of us who can’t go out as much as we would wish, either because of long-term illness, lockdown, or whatever reason.
Why Connecting to Nature is Important
As humans we can sometimes forget that we are an inclusive part of nature, never separate from it. It is profoundly meaningful to rekindle that connection when it is lost, and to nurture it more and more. Remembering that we are part of nature helps us to respect our own natural cycles and rhythms, and to integrate them into a lifestyle of self-respect, fulfillment and inter-connectedness, instead of pushing through with ignorance. We don’t expect the sun to rise at 2am, and we know we can’t control the weather. Keeping in mind that our own cycles and rhythms are equally natural and not ours to control, but ours to honour and respect, brings more poise and mastery to our lives.
8 Ways to Connect to Nature When you Can’t Go Out
Besides opening the windows for fresh air (if you live in unpolluted areas), what can you do to connect to nature when you can’t go out? Here are a few simple and fun ways to do that.
Houseplants
Cultivating houseplants is a most rewarding way to decorate the house while enjoying a connection to nature. I love creating mini landscapes with my plants: lots of them look like little trees and can give an instant impression of being outdoors. If you are not so gifted with keeping plants alive, you could try air plants: they need very little to grow and thrive and make the most interesting and graceful indoor gardens.
Growing herbs on the windowsill is another beautiful way to connect to nature. If you would rather not grow indoor plants, you could gather bits of nature every time you do go out and make little displays that you change through the seasons. Some of my nearest and dearest often gather lovely twigs, lichens, shells and pebbles on their walks and bring them back to me for my indoors mini worlds. I display those in places where I am sure to see them several times a day, for example by the bathroom sink, and they always make me smile.
Creating Mini Worlds
Creating mini worlds is a really fun and interactive way to connect to nature. I have many cosy corners in my house, and most of them have some mini versions of what I enjoy when outside in nature. Because there are many days when going out is not possible and I simply need to rest and take care of myself, I have found that these reminders of nature are beautiful ways for me to stay connected and bring joy to my life.
Nature always relaxes me and animals always make me smile. They have such a friendly presence for me, that I have realised how crucial miniature versions of these are for my self-care and wellbeing on those days when I am too limited to be out. So I have embraced that in fun and sweet ways to enhance my quality of life.
Hanging out with Animals
The absolute perfection of animals, their quirks and uniqueness, is a complete delight to me. Just a few minutes ago I was interacting with my sweet dog friend and really entertained by her unique way of being. As I looked through my window towards the field just by the house, I saw the donkey deep in meditation while the horse was running around wildly, mane flowing, letting it all out.
I just love these moments I get with all sorts of animals and the delightful, relaxing presence they offer. I am lucky to have access to them from my windows and little garden, but I also enjoy looking at the many photos I take of them when I am stuck in bed or in a chair.
One of my lovely neighbours.
Learning more about animals is a great way to nurture our connection to nature. My encyclopedia of animals always expands my world and introduces me to species I might never meet, keeping me in touch with the wonders and vastness of our natural world. I also love to look at the photos I took of my dog friend; I am so besotted with her and enjoy studying her perfectly sweet beauty and learning from her example of unconditional friendship.
My sweetest and best friend.
Looking at the Sky
As a student I lived for some years in a very dusty and noisy city where I felt quite miserable and out of place, but one of my luxuries was to have a skylight in the roof of my attic studio. I used to love lying down to look at the sky. It kept me going through those years of feeling very alienated from nature. A great reminder that just like our friends, the stars are always there, even if we can’t always see them.
Now I am so grateful to live in nature and love to look at the sky in all weathers, all seasons and all lights. Through the Scottish Winter we are blessed with such spectacular sunsets very early in the afternoon; they inspire me endlessly. Seeing the Milky Way and the Moon as they appear is always a great event which keeps popping up on my paintings. I love that I can admire all that from my bed or chair.
Enjoying my Soothing Art
One of the reasons why I decided to focus on creating soothing art is that I was bed-bound and housebound for years, and the most painful by far was that I could no longer go for my beloved long walks in nature. I started to make huge nature-inspired blankets to get the feeling of being immersed in natural colours and textures while I had to rest in bed.
I started to paint soothing landscapes as a way to reconnect to those past walks and cherished memories. To me, sitting down to paint is a total immersion in the little landscapes that appear on the canvas. It always refreshes me, just like going for a walk used to do. Now I can go out a little bit, but I am still mostly home, so creating and using soothing art remains one of my easiest ways to connect to nature while taking discerning care of myself.
Working with Natural Fibers
Working with natural fibers has many beautiful benefits, bringing us back to an embodied presence, allowing us to create and get out of our heads. For me, the meditation of natural fiber work is one of the most exquisite ways to be by myself and in connection with nature. I enjoy inexpressible delight and contentment feeling the fibers in my hands, shaping them into nature-inspired textures and admiring the depth and subtleties of colours.
Touching something that is natural and so beautiful is an experience I am always grateful for. My favourite fiber is wool, but there are so many to choose from. In my embroidery work I enjoy working with variegated cotton thread which make me travel as it unravels and shapes itself into stories and endless colours. Taking deep joy always in celebrating nature, I love embroidering tiny leaves, flowers, and small soothing landscapes.
Nature Watching
Yesterday I went on a trip to the Hebrides. The day before I was in the Yorkshire Dales, all without leaving my chair, thanks to the magic of documentaries. The photography is often superb, and I find it really relaxing to bask in the atmosphere of a different place or to see a video of a place that I have visited long ago: it’s really fun spotting the bits I have seen in person, what might look different, where I once pitched a tent or climbed a hill.
Another thing I love about documentaries is that they offer a different perspective: I hear things about the place that I had never thought of in that way and learn facts and background history I was ignorant about, making my enjoyment even greater. One of my top favourite documentaries is The Private Life of Plants by Sir David Attenborough. It has breathtaking timelapse sequences, beautiful music and the unerring touch of a master at work, showing plants in a very unusual way, as beings of mystery, precision and grace.
Appreciating vegetables
I don’t mind admitting that vegetables offer me a very mystical experience! A superb way to connect to nature when you can’t go out is found in the kitchen. Every time I prepare and eat vegetables, I feel quite overwhelmed by their simple beauty and love to think about their journey as a plant from seed to plate. It makes me feel so grateful to have this food, and so awed that it went through all those steps to become a vegetable. Cutting a red cabbage, admiring the stunning network of white and purple, the lacy perfection and the intricate tightness of layers, is a beautiful and artistic experience!
It makes me smile that I often find hearts in vegetables like butternut squash, fennel stalks and various leaves. Mindfully removing the seeds from a squash or pumpkin, I am amazed that one small seed could grow such a big vegetable which will nourish me so well. I think of all the people that have participated in cultivating it and getting it to me. Cutting up vegetables for a soup, I love the ephemeral art of seeing all the colours and shapes together, swimming in fresh water before cooking, and then blending into a delicious and nourishing broth with its delicious smells. Being mindful with our natural food is a beautiful and simple way to honour the interdependence of all things.
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