What is your nature? I like questions that come at me sideways, the ones that ask me something in a slightly different way. I’m sure this comes from a lifetime of taking tests, surveys, and personality profiles designed to stratify and organize me. In those situations, I might think too hard before answering, as if my words will measure me less somehow.
But nature—mine and yours—just is. It’s not something that can be improved, just as a tree or flower exists wholly.
Our nature is nature, not separate from it. You come from the earth and belong to the earth. Our culture would have us believe we can improve a million different ways, but at your core, what is your true, undeniable nature?
Nature—mine and yours—just is. It’s not something that can be improved, just as a tree or flower exists wholly.
You may be drawn to certain natural places—whether woods or mountains or oceans. You lean toward the outdoors uniquely, just as you may be drawn to paint or dance while others are drawn to sing or teach.
In the transition of midlife, I’ve found the outdoors to be a balm that leads me back to my own nature, toward experiences that nurture me.
The ocean
I just arrived in Ixtapa, Mexico with my husband and children—a warm and sunny place after four months of Utah snow. We set our alarms yesterday for 3 AM to catch our pre-dawn flight. When we landed, we stood in a passport control and customs line for two hours because the airport’s facilities and staff were small. We stripped off as much of our winter clothing as we could in the balmy, non-air conditioned rooms. When we settled into our hotel finally, after hauling our suitcases for a day, we felt exhausted and cranky.
And then we opened the sliding door to the balcony. The sound of the waves rolled in, along with birdsong. Pink flowering bougainvillea dotted the black and brown rocky coastline. Deciduous trees have not yet leafed out, but palms and cacti grow green on the bare branched hillside.
I felt my shoulders relax. Our adult children smiled. My husband exhaled.
The natural world is all around us. What part of it welcomes you? The light of moon and stars? Watering houseplants on a sunny windowsill? Chopping vegetables? Braiding a young girl’s hair? A trip to the ocean? Go and do, or at least make a plan for it.
Join us
If you’d like to do some digging in the ground of your true nature, please join our Wisdom Circle for Midlife Women. Feel supported by a circle of peers as you uncover that part of you that is ageless and needing nurture. The details are here. I look forward to meeting you!
