Through the Eyes of a Child

When we immerse ourselves in nature in the present moment, we are connected through our heart sense to our child within. On forest therapy walks I guide, participants often share memories of time spent as children in nature. Many comment how they have not slowed themselves down to sense nature carefully and deliberately for a long time, some say since childhood. Several report that they notice how children in their lives ardently stop, look, and listen when in natural environments, keen observers who allow themselves to be enmeshed in the more-than-human world with seemingly few barriers between themselves and nature.   

On a recent walk with a little one, I was able to observe his immersion experience through quiet noticings. I noticed how this two-year-old ran freely in the direction of sights and sounds which called to him. Also, that he just as freely and sometimes suddenly stopped, taking in the environment surrounding him and at his feet and above his head. I noticed that he naturally reached out his hands to touch a golden leaf, the bright light green lichen on the bark of the tree, the sparkling water flowing in the stream. I saw as he picked up leaves, tossing them one by one into the stream and following them with eyes and pointed fingers, watching attentively as the little rafts were carried downstream by the flow of the water. I watched as he craned his neck to look up at the sky and tree canopy to watch the movement of the trees and clouds. And I noticed as he crouched down to keenly watch a tiny ant crawl across the brittle leaves of the forest floor.   

When we allow ourselves time and space to reconnect with nature, to slow ourselves down to really notice that which surrounds and embraces us, we not only emulate the child, we are the child. Our inside selves experience connection and relationship with the natural world of which we are integral. As Ann Lamott says, ‘we’re every age we’ve ever been. Our inside selves are outside time and space.’ There is so much we can learn from the children in our lives, not the least of which is how to slow down and feel the connection which already exists between us and the more-than-human world.