Communicating with Nature

The natural world is amazing. In fact, it is one that you can have a “conversation” with. 【小题1】Apart from the obvious-that it’s an enjoyable, uplifting thing to do-you may seek to communicate with nature to benefit your mental health, for example.

When you arrive at your chosen spot, sit quietly for a few moments. 【小题2】Just talk in your head as you would to someone you’re opening a conversation with. “Hey, I’m Nikki. How are you doing today? Do you have time for a chat?” It doesn’t matter what you say, so long as you say it with an open heart, and you make it clear that you’re inviting communication.

【小题3】A million ways. You may notice a particular animal or insect coming closer to you and communicating energetically. You may notice a rhythm (韵律) or a pattern in the sound of the water or of the wind. Be mindful of what’s going on around you, be part of the natural world——you’ll soon notice so many ways in which your answers may come.

The first few times you attempt this exercise, you probably won’t see, hear or notice anything you choose to interpret as communication. 【小题4】If you practice this on a regular basis, however, you will start to pick things up. As you become more and more familiar with the oneness of yourself and the world around you, you will sense and understand more about what will occur during your “conversations”.

【小题5】There should be some benefit to nature, just as there is a benefit to you. When your time is over and you’re ready to leave, say thank you energetically and in your mind, but also say thank you in a practical way. Leave the area in a better state than you found it, for example, by picking up rubbish on your way out.

I used to be the most determined resolution-maker. Even as a child, I was always goal-centered and loved the feeling of accomplishing things, and every January 1st, I would sit down and write out my resolutions (目标) for the upcoming year. And what resolutions they were! I always picked big goals, like: In the New Year, I will lose 50 pounds! And run a marathon! And study scripture (圣经) every day!

The problem? I’d start out strong, but by February or March, I’d be out of willpower and I’d slide quietly back into my old habits. Every winter, I’d feel guilty and ashamed, looking back at all of the amazing things... I think one of my biggest problems with New Years resolutions was wanting to “dream big” but not having the skills and ability to do those things.

Now I take the opposite approach I’m all about the little goals. First, little goals are easy to set. Instead of saying I’m going to run a marathon, I’ve decided I’m going to run 20 minutes three days a week. Second, little goals are easier to accomplish. Every time I check one of my mini goals off my list, I feel a burst of pride and accomplishment. It’s a great feeling, and I don’t have to wait until the end of the year to enjoy it!

The other great thing about making small goals instead of resolutions is that you can build small goals on top of each other, adding the achievements together. For instance, recently I decided to make sure I ate five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. After a few months, this became a solid habit.

As a student at a medical school, Sam thinks poetry is a big part of his life, thanks to his new teacher, Rafael Campo, who believes poetry can benefit every doctor’s education and work. Rafael is a physician, professor and a highly respected poet.

“Poetry is in every encounter with my patients. If we do anything when we’ re with our patients, we’re really immersed in their stories, really hearing their voices. And, certainly, that’s what a poem does, ” he said.

Rafael worries that something important has been lost in medicine and medical education today: humanity, which he finds in poetry. To end that, he leads a weekly reading and writing workshop for medical students and residents. He thinks medical training focuses too much on distancing the doctor from his or her patients, and poems can help close that gap.

Third-year resident Andrea Schwartz was one of the workshop regulars. She said, “I think there’s no other profession other than medicine that produces as many writers as it does. And I think that is because there’s just so much power in doctors and patients interacting when patients are at their saddest moments. ” Not everyone believes that’s what doctors should do, though.

Rafael said, “I was afraid of how people might judge me, actually. In the medical profession, as many people know, we must always put the emergency first. But, you know, that kind of treatment, if it’s happening in the hospital, very regrettably, sadly, results in a bad outcome. The family is sitting by the bedside. The patient hasn’t survived the cancer. Don’t wve still have a role as healers there?”

In a poem titled “Health”, Rafael writes of the wish to live forever in a world made painless by our incurable joy. He says he will continue teaching students, helping patients and writing poems, his own brand of medicine.