Lately, I've been doing something that I hadn't done in a long time: go out into nature and just be. No agenda, no rush -- just find somewhere comfortable to sit and just watch everything going on around me. And preferably somewhere where there wasn't a ton of people around to distract me. Not that I don't enjoy being around people, mind you! It's just that I wanted my primary focus to be on nature and not on what the other people around me were or weren't doing.
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Since my mom and the pets have transitioned, I've found it helpful for my grief and anxiety to sit on a bench along the riverfront and just watch the birds -- I think bird-watching is becoming my new hobby! Yet I also find it therapeutic to watch the squirrels, rabbits, and deer scurry by, and hear the rustling of leaves in the trees. Being out and about in the natural world has made me realize that life and love continue on in this world, and that none of us are ever truly alone.
Claire B. Willis and Marnie Crawford Samuelson wrote this wonderful article on how being in nature can help us deal with our grief.
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