When I gaze at my Acer tree in the garden, watching the colours transform into their final hues, I’m reminded that the seasons are in their natural rhythm. It’s a gentle nudge to step outside and soak up the beauty of nature. It shifts my focus from my current situation, allowing me to recharge and rejuvenate. Just like the tree’s changing colours, a fresh perspective can offer us a new way to see things. It’s an opportunity to reflect on our return home, and we often return with a renewed sense of wonder and cherished memories of our walks in nature, embracing the ever-changing seasons.

Controlling feelings of anxiety can be supported greatly through the positive use of exercise. Physical activity acts as a natural release for built-up tension, giving the mind a break from constant worry. Whether it is a brisk walk through the park, a gentle yoga session, or a more vigorous run, movement encourages the body to produce endorphins, our natural mood lifters.

Exercise provides structure and a sense of routine, shifting focus away from the cycle of anxious thoughts. It allows the mind to become immersed in the rhythm of movement, similar to the way observing the changing colours of an Acer tree can bring a calming perspective. Over time, regular physical activity can build resilience, improve sleep, and offer a refreshed outlook on daily challenges, ultimately helping to keep anxiety in check.

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“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky…..” the first line of the poem “Sea Fever” by John Masefield. A walk along a beach is a pleasure which I can enjoy on a regular basis, as I live along the Jurassic Coast.

That feeling of the sand beneath my feet, the horizon where the sea and sky meet. The sound of the waves as they reach the beach. All bring a sense of calm, whatever the weather, I find the visit always re-energises me and I leave with a different perspective on life.

By shifting your location, causing you to look at the world from a different angle, gives you the opportunity to see things from an alternative position. What that does is gives you an option, sometimes we can become stuck in one place. Locked into a situation where we can’t see change. Having a sense of being overwhelmed and frustrated, we hover over the problem. Yet no solution can be found.

By making that move, gives us a new perspective, away from our stuck position, that first step enables a change; a choice.

Use that opportunity to make a change however slight, because through that change growth will occur. By staying still and not moving keeps you in the same place. That first step requires courage, but once it is completed, you are introducing change. Rejoice in that momentum, as Lao Tzu quotes. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

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