Noticing nature’s beauty helps me feel connected

Why is looking after your mental wellbeing important to you?

To feel good in myself, be able to do the things that make me happy and look after the people I love.

What do you do to protect and improve your mental wellbeing?

Noticing what things are important for my wellbeing – which is often clearer when I’m not doing them and caught up in the busyness of life! I love spending time in nature and going for walks in the woods, countryside or coast. I find it very grounding, and it reconnects me to our wider world. Noticing things like colours and the movement of plants and watching the other creatures go about their day is really relaxing and helps me let go of troubles and give my mind a break. I also love making space for nature in my garden – it feels really good see the bees and birds coming in and know I’m doing a little bit of good for our local wildlife.

Is there anything else that you find helpful or inspiring that you’d like to share?

One of my favourite poems is Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. I think it’s good to talk through your problems, but I also think there’s also space for simply just being present in the moment and letting it all go.

“You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers.