INSPIRATION

How to Find Inspiration in Nature

By Judi Moreo

Most of us would admit to finding a sunset somewhat moving and possibly inspirational. Few of us can walk past a beautifully red and purple sky without stopping to take a look and probably uploading a picture to Instagram. The same can be said of star-filled skies and crashing waves.

But what is it about nature that we find so beautiful and inspirational? Why are poets, artists, and musicians drawn to these scenes? How can you use this to encourage more creativity in your own life?

Nature teaches authenticity by giving you opportunities to be alone with yourself in a truly non-judgmental environment. It doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. There’s no judgment… just the pure freedom to be yourself as you are. It helps you build authentic self-awareness because it doesn’t try to change who you are or influence your decisions. Nature is possibly the world’s best teacher of how to be present and have awareness in daily life. All you have to do is sit quietly and observe your surroundings. This removes all the outside influences of media and other people’s opinions, while amplifying the quiet voice of truth that so often gets ignored.

Why We Find Nature Beautiful We feel awe, reverence, and wonder when we see anything that we find hard to fathom and that we can’t quite take in all at once. Things incredibly intricate, incredibly beautiful, or incredibly vast all create a sense of being small in a universe full of incredible possibilities. Research shows that this is a universal feeling, even shared by some animals. It appears to be beneficial for any species as it encourages altruism and community. Researchers often call these moments ‘peak experiences.’ Where the Inspiration Comes In So why does this lead to inspiration? The key thing to recognize is that peak experiences involve novelty and scale. They light up lots of areas of our brain as we struggle to comprehend the entirety of what we are seeing. This lighting up of the brain results in lots of memories, ideas, and thoughts flowing all at once. This is often said to be the perfect condition for ideas to emerge.

Beautiful scenes and majestic sights trigger the release of neurotransmitters that make us feel relaxed and exhilarated at the same time. Again, this puts us in a state that is conducive to creative thought and mental experimentation.

How to Harness Peak Experiences So, how do you harness these peak experiences to trigger more innovation and creativity in your life? One way to do this is to subject yourself to more beauty. Go on walks, travel the world, even spend some time on Google images! Another is to appreciate the majesty in even your smallest moments. When you see a flower bloom for the first time, or when you see a swarm of bees, stop to think of all that it represents and of the intricate beauty therein. The greatest poets are those who can see inspiration in all they survey.

Every moment we spend in nature is an opportunity to make amazing discoveries about ourselves and the world in which we live. Simply being surrounded by birds and plants has amazing beneficial effects for the mind and body. But you can also amplify these lessons when you explore nature in a more intentional way. The more clarity you have about what you’re looking for, the more likely you are to find it!V