One of my biggest coping mechanisms during the Pandemic is having a nature break.  A break not only from being indoors for most of my life in the past year or so – but also form the day to day routines, including chores and grocery shopping.  I find just the solitary silence and the sound of the natural world is completely therapeutic.  Better than any spa music or message.  This applies to both summer and winter weather, the silence of falling or fresh ground snow is just as calming – if not more so – as the ruffles of a summer breeze through the green leaves, or the multi coloured falling leaves in autumn. 

I think the key is to make the item and whether you rare in the City or the suburbs this may require you to actually drive to a natural area to get away from it all, luckily for me I have a few tiny woodlots within walking distance near my house that will do the trick just as well.

I dedicate my time in these walks or small breaks completely.  No photography – which is an inherent hobby of mine no matter where I go, no music, and most cases try to stop my thinking process by focusing purely on my surroundings and my breathing.  Inevitably my thoughts stray, but much like meditation, I try to bring it back to the moment as much as possible.

Day or night this has been a necessary part of my daily life if not daily then at least twice a week or once a week at the most.  Mental health has come up as a major issue lately, especially during the pandemic.  For me this has been a great way to reset my mental chaos and the moment of pause has most likely helped my health in a number of ways – if not physically then certainly mentally and emotionally.  It’s also a great thing to do if you are feeling overwhelmed and ready to burst with rage, this simple task is one of the few things the pandemic has taught me and something I will continue to do way after it is dealt with.