We are living in a world right now that is both different and at the same in so many ways. Different with the complications, limitations and heartache of COVID-19, yet same in that our true nature is still there, both within and surrounding us. I remember when the pandemic was a few months in reading stories about how “nature was taking over”; animals roaming cities in greater numbers and frequency. Then we too, cooped up too long inside moved out to experience our surroundings in new ways, walking in nature, socializing (with distance) in the great outdoors rather than in restaurant, shopping malls, and coffee shops.

As an avid nature lover, outdoorsy and active person, this was already my second nature, though working from home, connecting with colleagues and clients through the screen was definitely taking its toll. Nature has been my saving grace, breathing fresh air (albeit the city air of Toronto) seeing the colours of nature in both urban and remote settings has kept me grounded through it all. And while I have not been taking pictures as much as I used to, I have been taking in each experience with my senses. Being stationary at my computer for work has evoked more of a need to move outside, experiencing a different kind of creating.

Journaling and small creations still connect me to self so that I may be present with others. Our nature is to connect with others. Our nature is to create: create experiences, create ideas, create life in some form or another. We are not meant to be idle creatures, separate from others. We are creative relational beings with a need to express ourselves, and connect with others. I invite you to step outside of the habitual and create news ways of being that serve your wellness. Your nature is calling you, outside of the usual, beyond the automatic, and into who your truly are, can you hear it? Listen beyond the noise of all else: the worry, dread, regret. Play, create, be.