I love being outside and I love, even more, listening to nature and what it has to tell me. While I love being around people the majority of the time, outside is my time to reconnect, ground myself, and enjoy the beauty of the earth. Here are 5 nature sounds that I love to hear.
Month: May 2022
Road Trip Packing Items
It’s the season for road trips and I take them in abundance. While my destination, the length of the road trip, and the people who travel with me, change with each trip; there are fundamentals that always remain. Here are 5 items that I will always have in my car before starting a road trip.
- Sunglasses are an absolute must and I have been on trips where I have forgotten mine. So when anyone is traveling with me, I also have extra sunglasses for everyone in the car.
- Water is something every passenger has in my car and I have it in bottles that can be reused for the duration of the trip. You never know when you desperately need that sip of water.
- A blanket that can be used to cover things, sit on, sleep with or even dry off with.
- Kleenex because drive-thru napkins are just so harsh on your face.
- Roadside emergency kit for the . . .’I wasn’t prepared for that’ moments.
Spring Cleaning
Now that it is beautiful outside, no one wants to stay inside. But after a few months of being cooped up indoors, you realize that everything inside needs the freshness that is outside. . .enter, spring cleaning. I am pretty consistent on a lot of things–my house is clean, orderly, and taken care of. But every spring I feel the need to breathe life back into all the nooks and crannies.
So here are 5 tips and tricks that I have tried if you want to achieve the same.
How To Spend More Time In Nature
Do you find yourself getting up in the morning just to go to work and then come home exhausted and really the only thing you want to do is stay inside and rest? Is the only time you spend outside the walking you do to your car, to a building, to your home? There are a lot of people like you. The unfortunate part is that you are missing out on the beauty of life. Nature shows us that beauty every moment of every day.
Stop missing out! Here are 5 tips to spend more time outside connecting.
- Realize that it doesn’t have to be long. If you need to, set a timer on your phone for 5 minutes and then just stand outside. Pay attention to the air around, listen for a bird, stare at the grass, tree, or flower growing. Take 5 deep breaths and then guess what–you are done. You can go inside. The beauty of starting short is that you realize it is short but it is revitalizing. You will naturally add more time once you get into the habit of doing it.
- When taking a lunch break, eat outside and not in the building or in your car.
- Take a walk. Once again this doesn’t have to be long. Make a goal for 20 minutes. You don’t even need to change your clothes or shoes for this short of time.
- Realize that you don’t need “equipment” to be outside. There are items that make being outside more enjoyable but you don’t need fancy patio furniture, a body monitoring watch, or even another person to step outside.
- Pay attention to what parks or trails are nearby your work or home–get to know them. Being in nature doesn’t require you to drive somewhere far away in order to enjoy it.
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