Combining Mindfulness and Ecology for a Deeper Connection to Yourself and the World

by Eliana Hood

Too much of our precious time is wasted stuck in the capitalist mindset of productivity, leaving us trapped in the endless race of keeping up with everyone else. We’re consumed with what others think and therefore crave escapes. This leads to seeking grand getaways and Insta-worthy trips all in the name of ‘getting back to nature,’ or downloading app upon app for meditation and mantras, just trying to find some peace of mind and connection within ourselves.

Trips and apps are all fine and good, and if they help, go for it! Grounding yourself however, doesn’t have to be so convoluted or expensive. Nature is right outside your door! Your window! Do you know what the plants are that grow outside your building? Even the little weeds sticking out of the sidewalk? It's surprising how little we know about our immediate ecosystems. Discovering what's growing around you helps you connect to your little piece of the world, deepening your appreciation for where you are, and grounding yourself in the process.

Lara Call Gastinger, a botanist, artist and illustrator, has a practice she widely teaches called perpetual journaling. The idea is to take a journal and date the pages for a specific timeframe, most commonly throughout a week (without putting the year), and then discover plants in your area that attract your attention. Take 10 minutes out of your day and draw with a pen (imperfections are encouraged) a specific plant that you see. It could be a leaf, a stem, a flower - whatever you like. Take notes in the journal of your location, the smells and sights, and then on your chosen subject. The key is observation. For instance, are the leaves alternate or opposite? Is the stem sticky? These are all important factors that will aid in placing the plant so you can begin to learn about your local ecosystem. 

I live in Southern California, so the wildlife is pretty domesticated, but I have managed to find plants natural to the area through this practice. The beautiful flowering bush that grows alongside the edge of mine and my neighbor’s backyards is California fuchsia, which is native to this area and desert friendly! My goal is to come back to this plant in the different weeks and learn the budding timespan of the flowers.

There’s a reason the New York Times and The National Gallery of Art have touted drawing as an anxiety-reducing practice and meditation alternative. When drawing, you are solely focused on something outside of yourself – in drawing nature, you are connecting to the world, whether consciously aware of it or not. By observing and taking note of your plant, you are present. You are also learning what’s around you and what grows and thrives in different seasons! You may observe how climate change impacts your local plants; maybe something hasn’t bloomed yet that normally would, or in my area, many plants seem to be fading due to the extreme heat. 

Nature journaling has shifted my perspective. I am becoming more conscious and mindful of what’s surrounding me. I stop for an eye-catching leaf, the branch of a walnut tree, or scan the stalks of deer grass (a recent find) that grace my local park. The rest of the world stops as you examine what’s before you. You begin growing a relationship with the land you walk on as you learn about its features and behaviors- the ecology of it. What better way to center yourself, and get back to nature, than to appreciate and understand what’s around you?