spending time with nature | bring back the roots

I spent time in a forest today, skipping along a sun-filled path towards beautiful tall trees that were gently swaying with the breeze. Okay, so maybe I wasn’t skipping, but it was so nice outside that I felt like I was. It was a February day, but in no means did it feel as such. It felt light, bright, the way the first few days of Spring feel. I was wearing a jean dress and white flats. As soon as we got there, I had come to regret my white shoes. Mud. All over. But there is something so fresh and freeing about doing things you shouldn’t.

Down that sun-filled path we came to a giant black walnut tree. I wondered of her years and the stories she must’ve known. The seasons she had weathered, the seeds she had dropped. We stood around her as the tour guide showed us how to correctly tap this beautiful black walnut tree for sap. Then she explained of the hours it takes to boil the sap, and how gallons of it only results in a tiny amount of syrup.

There was something so simple yet refreshing and grounding about watching this process of syrup being made. It reminded me of how much we can take things in life for granted. Of how we truly don’t know the hard work that goes into growing and gathering food, to it ending up at our supper tables.

I think it’s important we spend more time learning about these things. I think it’s important we spend more time teaching our children about these things. So they can grasp all areas of this life. So that they can grow with a deep rooted appreciation for the world and of Mother Nature.

Here’s a list of 10 wonderful ways we can show our children the true value of simplicity and appreciation this summer:

Teaching Simplicity

1. Carve your names on a tree

2. Start a garden

3. Have a weekly day of the week to disconnect from technology

4. Be a vegaterian for a week

5. Pick fresh fruit as a family. Make a pie or something wonderful with the pickings you’ve gathered

6. Write letters to your future selfs

7. Buy a bunch of flowers and hand them out to strangers

8. Visit as many parks, nature centers, and farmer’s markets as you can

9. Do yoga as a family followed by a green smoothie and then cuddle up to a good book

10. Eliminate instead of organize 

What are some things you want to do this summer to help achieve a more appreciative & fulfilling season?

xx,

mamajbirdy