We often feel like we need to ‘seek out’ nature to see ourselves as part of it, whether that’s heading off on a big hike or doing something out of the ordinary. But what if you’re already part of nature, and that connection begins the moment you wake up?

It’s an odd thing to separate ourselves from the very fabric of the world which makes, and remakes us, every moment we are alive. Odd, and yet completely understandable. 
 
The world is formed of complex, and often overwhelming, even competing, ideas and to spend all our moments in contemplation of this fact is going to feel closer to the life of spiritual and philosophical focus. 
 
However, there are always tiny moments in a day which can bring me back to an awareness of my place in the world. My life is an intrinsic part of nature, connected to both worlds within me, and worlds outside. 
 
These moments may not seem like much, but as anyone who plants seeds, gets their hands into the dirt, creates art in any form, or simply watches time pass, knows… these moments repeated on a regular basis can develop new growth, forming roots and leaves and blooms and fruit for the cumulative energy invested. 
 
Any moment in any day can show me the multitude of ways in which I form a (tiny yet intrinsic) piece of the web of nature which connects the planet, all I need to do is to be aware of those connections... nothing more. 

To stop and notice the information from our senses, the connections that surround us, the involuntary processes as well as our chosen actions – all the everyday things that already connect us with the world around us. We may have become intellectually divorced from this, even looking for ‘reconciliation’, when in truth reconciliation is impossible because we never were, and never could be, separate. 
 
No necessity for large scale action, unless I choose to, and nothing more than taking a moment to recognise my place in the world, because on any given day I am already interacting with a multitude of different aspects of the natural world in a lot of different ways, from the cosy to the more active. 
 
I wake up, stretch, and because it is now winter (!) notice the difference in temperature between my room and the warmth of my bed complete with the lack of desire to get up and get cold. 
 
It’s dark outside and so I make a coffee from my bed and grab my journal, a practice that for me is the start of noticing how I feel inside as well as picking up on the noticeable parts of what is happening outside me. The ideas in these internal states are as fluid as the rivers I have swum in and walked beside, and whilst I might feel the intellectual need to draw lines between these different aspects of nature, they are all still part of the same ebb and flow of that world. 
 
I love to spend time watching the weather from my window, preferably with the company of a cat and especially during the winter when the changes can be sudden and an early(ish) morning of beautiful sunlight can swiftly evolve into grey skies and lashing rain. 

Just as the other activities are personal to me, taking action in this sort of focused way is a personal process and choosing how I want to be involved is also about me and my interests. 
 
As might be expected, my thoughts don't stray far from considering if I can use the skills and the passion I have for photography to support my surroundings, so volunteering my time with Somerset Wildlife Trust seems like a perfect fit. 
 
In the past I have thought that I ‘should’ be laying hedges or getting muddy in order to volunteer ‘properly’, but I have realised that the most sustainable sort of support I can offer is sharing the skills I have right now, and if I want to develop skills in hedge laying or get my hands dirty there is always ample opportunity whenever I choose. 
 
Wilder than I think. 
 
Mindfulness has become a bit of a buzz word, an action and yet another thing to add to the list of things we are supposed to do. Sometimes seen as something esoteric or even spiritual, and yet at its root it is simply the concept of taking notice of what is already there. 
 
Like setting an hourly timer - getting up to have a stretch, to get a drink of water, to see what you can notice from your place right now and noticing how all your senses experience that moment. 
 
Seeing a house plant, the smell of the wooden furniture whose timber was once a tree, the sound from the pet whose coat you stroke, the play of light on the wall from the window, the taste of the food you take time to create. 
 

And likewise, volunteering or ’taking action’ is simply an extension or expansion of what we already feel, think, and see as valuable. Any volunteering or community involvement is simply the same process but this time potentially with others and within a time and action boundaried way… for me through photography and writing, for others through whatever means makes sense, gives joy, shares meaning, or is most practical to them. 
 
With the deluge of suggested changes to our lives and lifestyles falling thick and fast at the start of the year, why not give ourselves a break and rather than adding to the increasingly wobbly house of cards, give ourselves more permission to stop and notice what we already feel, notice what we already do, and if we choose, join up with others doing the same or similar things. 
 
For me it starts with waking up. 
 
Noticing my body, gently stretching and feeding it, acknowledging my place in the natural world, getting cosy with my view from the window, watching the leaves in the trees, noticing the weather outside, seeing the sky change and the passage of the light as the sun moves in its orbit … and hanging out with the cat. 

It can be that simple, and simplicity is usually the best policy. 

 
Rae volunteers with Somerset Wildlife Trust, using photography and writing to support nature and community. 
 
Discover more ideas for embracing your Wilder You this New Year here >