Tips for the Reluctant Naturalist

I do believe that being outdoors and enjoying nature is good for me. Like Mary Pipher pointed out, people need contact with the natural world as an antidote to advertising and to offer a different perspective on the universe.

Generally I enjoy the outdoors and nature, but I won't be applying any of the following suggestions today. Wind gusts, falling temperatures, and splattering sleet are going to keep me either in the car or inside a building with extra layers piled on for warmth. So file these away for future reference, or if your weather conditions are more favorable, try one on for size. You may build some wonderful memories.


Tips for the Reluctant Naturalist

· Instead of watching “Oprah” tomorrow afternoon, load up the kids in a wagon, pack a snack, and take a walk.

· Keep a nature journal. Try sketching and adding watercolors later. Look up the names of everything you study and write them out. Adam was given the task of naming the animals. Recognizing and remembering the names given to the things of creation can help us appreciate their intrinsic value.

· Go camping. Easy for me to say? Okay, so I love camping. I’ll admit it. I love torn jeans and hair up in a ponytail, no makeup, hiking, going to sleep surrounded by night sounds with nothing but thin nylon separating me from God’s creation. Who knows? God may use camping in your life, too, to help you feel more connected and dependent on Him.

· Small children love nature. Learn to love it from them. Dig in the mud. Watch an anthill. Hold a snail in your hand. Lie on a blanket and watch clouds float past. See how children may inspire you to notice more.

· Go for a twenty-minute walk every day. Notice seasonal changes. Watch flowers bloom, flourish, fade and develop seeds. Pay more attention as you go. It’ll do wonders for your figure, health, and your appreciation of the Creator.

· Read books by nature-lovers like Annie Dillard, James Herriot, and Gerald Durrell. Their personal passion may turn you on to animals and living things in ways you never thought possible! And because your ultimate goal is to listen to God through them, you’ll have an added dimension to your own journeys into the natural world.

· Read Job 39, then visit a zoo to appreciate the wide range of animals God created. Wonder at His creativity. What can you learn from the wallaby, emu, or lemur?

· Consider gardening at some level. If you never have before, you can read books and talk with friends for ideas, but until you’re digging in the soil yourself you’ll lack that firsthand knowledge of what God wants to say about Himself and about you.

· Pick a nature hobby. Bird-watching, gardening, shell- or rock-collecting can encourage you to explore one area in more depth. As you learn more details about your special interest, you may find there is even more insight to gain.

· Plan a vacation that includes a natural wonder you rarely see—geysers, hot springs, caves, mountains, waterfalls, canyons, icebergs, or oceans.

· If it’s possible where you live, hang a birdbath or have a birdfeeder this winter—or any time of year—and keep it filled. Keep a log of the birds that visit.

· Eat outside whenever possible. Pile on a sweater or coat in the fall. Throw a blanket on the ground if you don’t have a picnic table.

· Open the windows in your house when weather permits. Roll down the windows of your car.

· Leave the house a few degrees cooler in winter and warmer in summer to get more in tune with what’s happening outside the house. Unnaturally high or low indoor temperatures from heaters and air conditioners give us a false sense of security, making us forget our very real dependence on God.

· Admire your family, your precious children, in their beauty and complexity. Gaze upon a sleeping baby. Marvel at a young swimmer diving into the pool. God created mankind. And it was good.


[adapted from The Contemplative Mom: Restoring Rich Relationship with God in the Midst of Motherhood]