I recently listened to a psychologist explaining how when we feel lonely, what can help us is:
- connection with other human beings and
- spending time in nature.
I had a chance to spend three days alone in another country, in an unknown town. It felt odd entering a coffee bar all alone, eating all alone, and even sightseeing without having someone by my side. It was not bad, quite on the contrary, but it felt different.
One of those three days, I went hiking on one of the hills just outside the town. It was chilly and there was no sunshine. As I started going up the hill, it became quite windy and at that moment, I thought about going back. However, I wanted to see the town from the top of that hill.
And then, I reached a point where the road became a path, where pavements became endless vineyards.
Just like that, the town became something far and insignificant. All the people and all those buildings. All the church towers, malls and bridges. I went up wanting to see all of that, but at that moment, I didn’t even remember the town that was laying in front of me.
All I saw was the incredibly gentle shade of pink that was coming through vast grey clouds.
The silhouette of a bird playing across the skies.
Vineyard dancing in the rhythm of the wind.
Cold wind didn’t bother me anymore.
Instead, it became fresh air for my lungs.
Dark clouds stopped being an obstacle to the sun.
Instead, they became peace for my eyes.
Right here, I didn’t feel alone – I felt calm, awake, alive.
There is something truly healing in connecting with nature. Try it, give yourself some offline time, some time without any outer distractions, and spend it in nature. Through connecting with nature, we end up connecting with ourselves.
“And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
Anne Frank