As Wayne Dyer beautifully said, “When you change the way you look at the world, the world you see changes.”
August invites us to take this wisdom to heart – and to take ourselves outside.
There’s something uniquely revitalising about stepping into the open air at this time of year. The warm breeze on your skin, the shimmer of sunlight through leaves, and the quiet flutter of butterfly wings – it all reminds us that there’s a bigger, more beautiful world beyond our walls. When we shift our environment, we often shift our perspective too.
Have you noticed the butterflies this year? They’re everywhere! It feels like a butterfly year – colourful, light, transformative. A joyful contrast to last year’s slug-and-snail invasion, isn’t it?
Nature gives us endless opportunities to practise mindfulness in the simplest, most profound ways. Mindfulness is the ability to see things as they are, free from the filter of our conditioning. When we’re truly present, we create the inner space where compassion and loving kindness can naturally arise.
And what better setting to practise this than the natural world?
Take a forest walk, wander over the heath, or even just walk slowly through your garden. Feel your feet on the earth. Let the sounds of birdsong, rustling leaves, and distant breezes settle into your ears. Let your gaze soften, not fixed or focused, but gently resting on the space around you.
Did you know that softening your gaze into the distance activates your parasympathetic nervous system? That’s the one that calms you, slowing your breath, steadying your heart rate, and reducing stress hormones. It’s one of the simplest ways to invite calm into your body.
Try it now:
Take a deep breath.
Lift your eyes and let your gaze soften into the distance.
Notice… what shifts?
Let this month be your reminder to step outside more often, not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. Open to what’s here. Open to healing. Open to beauty.
For more mindfulness tips and inspiration, follow Becky on Instagram or join a yoga class.
