Syncing with Nature

In last week’s blog from the North Shore, I wrote about achieving dynamic equilibrium to replace the elusive “work/life” balance that seems so out of reach.  One of the ways I restore myself during my time on the North Shore of Lake Superior is to sync myself with the nature around me intentionally. The first pattern I find myself syncing to is the day and night cycle. I wake up early with the sunrise, for example, and go to sleep when it’s dark outside. In our regular life, we use the clock on the wall to tell us when to wake up and sleep. But syncing with nature uses the rhythms of the planet’s daily cycle to communicate to our bodies when to wake up and sleep, a more powerful and natural mechanism.   I wonder if syncing our life to a constructed sense of time creates stress we aren’t aware of?

Syncing my body is the first thing I intentionally shift. The second is to the rhythms around me. My breathing starts syncing to the advance and retreat of the waves outside my window. Then my moods and activity start to sync with Nature. The energy in the waves (or wind) draws my attention and inspires me to get out and hike. Today’s rain invites me to reflect and find a warm shelter to nurture myself, unlike the seagulls and geese that seem to be the only animals that can be seen today.

The result of syncing my life with Nature is that I start feeling more centered and integrated. Feeling connected to the life around me helps me to release my stress and lower the cortisol levels in my body.  I sleep deeply and look at the Nature around me instead of my cell phone or TV. I enjoy just being in the present – sitting outside, reading, pausing, reflecting, and enjoying the sounds and sights around me. And this feeling of being connected reshapes my food choices that reinforce my syncing to nature.

At home, this capacity to let go of my many lists of tasks or responsibilities is more difficult. I look to the clock on the wall to define my daily tasks and help me understand if I am running ahead or behind my schedule. Even with exercise, the stress and complexity of my life slowly accumulate over the year. When I start feeling the tension in my neck, I know it is time for me to schedule another time up here on the North Shore and reconnect with the magic of this place.

When I return from this type of vacation, I often reset my daily schedule to apply this feeling to my regular life.  For example, I set up a special writing space different from my official office. It is designed to support creative reflection and writing. This strategy has helped me create a space out of time that allows me to remember this feeling from the North Shore and gives me an experience of resetting and restoring myself in my daily life.

Syncing with Nature gives me a feeling that I have been reset and restored. It helps me relax completely and have more capacity to return to my life, healthier and with a feeling of gratitude for this time away from my office desk and daily life.