Where Grief Meets Spring

A simple outdoor mindfulness practice that carries you through your hardest days

Spring is here. The energy in the air is palpable — full of movement and vitality.

Do you feel it?

That energy is available to you and me.
Yet I couldn’t quite receive it, as grief and fear had lately clouded my ability to feel.
That is until I paid attention.

I want to share a simple yet powerful mindfulness practice, one that has held me through some of my hardest days.

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Gloom Was Here, then Gone

This week, I went on a nature walk in my usual spot.
I started sobbing quietly, missing my husband, Andy.
This is where we shared memories as a family with our son and where his U.S. memorial service took place.

Lately, a heavy gloom had settled over me until that morning I decided to turn on the music of David Bowie, Andy’s favorite musician.
The songs were upbeat, uplifting me and reminding me of Andy’s spirit — playful, creative, expressive, gentle, deep-thinking and enlightening.

As the music played, the gloom gradually began to dissolve.
I could finally see that today was exceptionally beautiful.

Spring had arrived.
Flowers were blooming.
Baby birds and insects had emerged.
All forms of life converged like a symphony, each playing its part in perfect harmony.
”Wow,” I thought to myself, in awe of the beauty before me.
A few photographers with their long lenses watched and snapped photos quietly, trying to capture it all.

The big, round, bright, majestic sun dominated the sky, illuminating everything in its path.
I wondered—Is this what heaven looks like?
It felt like bliss.
I wondered—Is that where Andy lives now?

In the midst of my grief, nature held me.

Sorrow and awe can co-exist, moving in tandem.
Light still shines everywhere.

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Come to Nature

When life feels heavy and stressful,
When you’re sad, upset, angry or overwhelmed,
Come to nature.

It’s accessible, healing and grounding.

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Something you already know.
How often do you take advantage of it?
We often overlook the significance of simplicity.

Nature heals — science also agrees.
Studies show that time in green spaces reduces stress and improves physical, mental and emotional health.

Let nature hold you.
Let it nourish your soul.

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The Art of Noticing

This is the practice:
You don’t simply walk to get your steps in.
You walk to notice.
To feel.
To appreciate.

Slow down your pace.
Find a place to stop.
Take a pause.
See the leaves. The grass. The clouds in the sky.
Look closely at their colors, textures and shapes.

Be curious.
Allow.

Choose one thing to zoom in on and wonder about it.
What thoughts come to mind?
What physical sensations are you experiencing?
What do you hear?

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My Moment of Noticing

I focused on the yellow rapeseed flowers.
Normally, this field is dry and brown.
Today, it was nourished — adorned with bright yellow, green and lavender purple.

I took a closer look at a single branch.
The petals.
A bee, and then two, hovering.

I noticed different shades of yellow on the petals and appreciated their vibrancy.
I bent down to zoom into the grass.
I saw layers of green.
The sun's rays hit every surface, giving each blade a different hue.

I hear birds chirping, crickets humming, the steady roar of traffic and then the wind. I remember Andy once said wind is where I’d find him when he was gone.

Then came an urge — to touch and to hold what I saw.
An immediate thought followed: “Should I?”

I was surprised by a slight resistance in me against such a simple act that required no effort.

So I simply allowed.

I ran my hand across the leaves, cupped the petals in my palm, feeling every delicate sensation.

In that small act, I realized something deeper:

An urge is a message. A calling for your attention.
A nudge from your soul.

Have you noticed it takes more energy to resist a natural urge than to follow it?
Go and Answer it.

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One Small Action

How often do you hold yourself back from doing what you intuitively know needs to be done?
Saying something you long to say?
Acting on an idea that’s been sitting in you for days, weeks, months or years?

An urge, even a small one, is not meaningless.
It beckons for your one action
Which could create a ripple effect, a turning point, a shift in your world.

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Live in Wonder

On my path, I encountered an egret, a beetle, snails, lizards, many birds, and one fat-looking insect — which, thanks to Google, I discovered was a Jerusalem cricket.

My invitation to you:
Be curious about the stories behind it all.

Where is that cricket heading?
Where was that bird before it landed here?
How long did it take the egret to get here? Where’s its family?
How in the world do snails stick to those thin stems?!
What does pollen taste like to bees or even to me?!
What does it feel like to be a beetle, slow and steady, wading through dense grass?

Let your imagination roam.
Live in wonder.
Feel your connection to it all.
Be in gratitude for what’s here — right now.

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Even in the City

You might say, “But I live in a big city. Nature is hard to find.”
If you look closely, it’s everywhere.

Slow down.
Pause.
Look up at the sky—it has no limits.
Zoom in.
What color is it today?
What shapes are the clouds?
What texture do they carry?
Are they still or drifting?

Notice the trees.
See the variety of leaves and greens.
No two are the same.
How amazing!
Each one catches the light in its own unique way.

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Let It Steady You

This is the wonder of the world.
Let it hold and steady you.

And maybe, someone you love is still here in it with you, too.

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