L is for Listening: mindfulness in nature

How can listening to nature improve your physical and mental wellbeing?

We live in a very visual society, bombarded with advertising images and social media photo apps.

We sometimes forget that our other senses can help us understand the world.

Next time you are on a walk, take 20 minutes to simply sit and listen. Let the world wash over you and start to pick out the individual noises: a bird calling, the trickle of a stream, wind in the trees, a distant car. Soon you begin to build a deeper picture of your surroundings beyond what you can immediately see.

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We strongly recommend learning birdsongs in 2019 – it will revolutionise your spring walks, enabling you to use your ears alone to build an inventory of the winged inhabitants of your local wood or park without needing binoculars. Incredibly rewarding.