Nature Walk: Cycles of Life
Any Location
AN INVITATION TO
PERSONAL REFLECTION & WELL-BEING
Welcome
This guide is part of the Comox Valley Hospice Society Nature Walks Program (CVHS). It is a self-care program designed to connect people who are journeying through loss, illness, or caregiver fatigue, with the healing powers and beauty of nature. Using the guidebook provided, you can take part in a self-led nature walk at your own pace, using the themed questions provided for personal reflection, and allow nature to be a therapeutic environment in which wellness can occur. By focusing on the present moment and experiencing the sights and sounds of nature, many find that a sense of wellbeing and calm reduces feelings of sadness, hopelessness, fear, anxiety and loneliness.
How to Use This Guide: Using the questions in the provided reflection points, you'll be exploring the theme of Cycles of Life. We suggest choosing a walking location you're already familiar with, but this guide can be applied in any location where you feel comfortable. As you walk, the guide will refer to five stops you'll be asked to make. These stops can be any places on your route that invite you to slow down, to linger, or rest. The guide will refer to these places as "reflection stops" followed by a few questions referred to as "reflective points". As you consider these questions, you can use the "My Reflections" tool in the app to access common smart phone functions to help you to store any thoughts you may want to revisit later.
Please dress appropriately for the weather and bring along some water. As this is a reflective walk and you'll be focused inwardly as well as outwardly, we recommend muting your phone and leaving pets at home. Please review the alerts located in the menu of this site.
Before You Begin:
You will be choosing your route, as well as where you will pause for reflection. As you walk, be prepared to stop along the way. As your walk is not intended to be focused solely on physical exercise, it's okay to be flexible, to be open to a change in destination, or for your route to take a little longer than it normally would.
Take a moment to check in with yourself. What is your mood like? How are you feeling? What bodily sensations are you noticing? What thoughts are running through your mind?
A Focus on Cycles of Life
What do you think about when you hear the word "cycles"? Does it bring up images of nature? There are many different cycles in nature: day and night, monthly lunar cycles, and seasons. Do you think about generations? Or perhaps your mind goes to situations or habits in your relationships that have recurring themes. Maybe these thoughts bring comfort as you think about the natural order of things, or perhaps the word cycles makes you think "here we go again."
Before you begin your walk, take a few moments to think about the context of cycles that most resonates in your life today and in which area(s) you are wanting to experience healing.
Now take a deep breath and look around at your surroundings, and begin your walk using all of your senses.
Reflection Stop #1
Describe the place where you have decided to stop. In what ways does this place remind you of cycles?
Reflective Points
As you look around at your surroundings, what things do you see that are unique for this particular time of year?
What things can you see that will be experiencing change as the season progresses?
#2 Reflection Stop
Take a few moments to think about why you have chosen this reflection stop. What examples of cycles are you noticing?
Reflective Points
Do you notice anything in your surroundings that has been shaped by the cycles in its environment? (A rotting log, a bending tree, or perhaps the smoothness of the stones.)
In what ways have you been shaped by your life experiences?
How are current or recent experiences changing you?
#3 Reflection Stop
Describe this reflection stop and how it relates to your responses to cycles.
Reflective Points
Take in your natural surroundings. Notice what is living and what is dying.
How does viewing the changes in nature bring to mind your own mortality?
Can you think of how experiencing grief has changed you?
#4 Reflection Stop
Are your choices of reflection stops similar or different each time? What criteria do they seem to have in common? In what ways have your stops been unique?
Reflective Points
In what ways does the natural world respond to cycles of change?
Can you identify anything in your surroundings that does not experience change?
#5 Reflection Stop
Is it becoming easier or more difficult to recognize the cycles around you? Describe the way this final stop relates to natural cycles.
Reflective Points
How does the wind feel on your skin? Is it coming from a new direction? How has the light changed since you began your walk?
Have you gained any insights today? What cycles do you recognize in your own life?
A Few Final Thoughts
Become aware of your thoughts, feelings, moods, and bodily sensations. What are you experiencing now?
What is different from when you started your nature walk?
As you conclude the reflective part of your walk, take a deep breath and let it out. Offer thanks to yourself for taking this time to be present, mindful and caring for your whole being. Over the next few days, some of your reflections may come to mind again. Be open to the insights nature has offered you as you contemplate the natural rhythms of cycles.
