An exercise you can do anywhere in nature, in the park, your garden, the woods, by a stream or with nature in your home.
Sit quietly somewhere in nature, relax and become still, wait a while to settle yourself. Then ask yourself the question: “What is my relationship with nature?”
You can then move off to explore in a contemplative, mindful way what is around you. Feel where you may be drawn to. Go to somewhere where you can find objects to create something in response to this question. For example, interesting stones, colourful leaves, blossoms, seeds, feathers, branches, soil. Whatever is lying around. Then take your time to create something with the objects you’ve found, like a sculpture in the natural world. Don’t worry about what you are producing, just go with the flow of what is unfolding. It will have meaning for you so it doesn’t have to be a work of art.
You can then take a photo of your nature sculpture when you’ve finished. If you like, you can then share what you have created with the group, and if you want, talk about it and what it means to you. There is no right or wrong way to approach this exercise. Just have fun letting your imagination free and your thoughts and feelings wander. You can start to become aware of what you are experiencing in the moment.
