Three Life Lessons from Nature

As human beings, we get so caught up with life that we sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees. It may take nature, trees, to teach us to focus and perform better in our everyday activities and lives. Below are three simple tools to improve everyday life and interactions with others.

Presence. Patience. Community.

Presence

Nature thrives and survives on a daily basis on it’s own unless some external forces like rain, tornado, hurricane, earthquake or fires affects it’s outcome. We can learn how to live a more fulfilled life by being present like nature, trees in particular.

Trees possess a heightened awareness for changes in the seasons and mostly complying when expected or unexpected changes occur. They go with the flow and when that flow changes, they are set to go again. They sense these changes by paying close attention, using their equivalent of nerve cells, to shifts in temperature, wind, and light. The key here is paying attention and being in tuned. Without paying such close attention, they’d be at risk for dropping their leaves too soon and missing out on precious sunlight that can be turned into energy. Or, they might hold onto their leaves too long, increasing the risk they’ll be blown over by storms or crack due to the weight of condensation and ice on their branches.