I took a break from our chiropractic clinic in Overland KS. As I sit in the majesty and peace of the rocky mountains of Colorado I am struck by a peace that washes over me. I see the small rocks and the massive mountains, the small cacti and the massive trees. I am struck with the overwhelming sense that we are all one. We are all small players in the unfolding symphony of life. Not one thing or person is essential to the continuance of life, yet life would by incomplete without everything exactly as it is. I have felt this perfection many times in my life and every time the feeling is humbling. Any stress or worry or problem is so small and insignificant, it seems to vanish. Nature seems to bring us back into the fold while society tends to pull us out of it.

There is a flow to life that nature helps us reconnect to; a deliberate pace that is easy to disconnect from. In busy times it is easy to disconnect from this pace but paradoxically it is the most important time to keep connected to it. When we are asked to do a lot, and in todays day and age that seem to be all the time, that is when we need this deliberate, and purposeful pace the most.

It is easy in our lives to be swept up by the daily events: our families, our work, the comings and goings of each day. It is easy to get out of the flow of life and into the stresses of life. Often as we rush from event to event, we end up rushing from day to day and year to year. I feel it is important to be able to stop and get back into the flow right now. Your next vacation may be months away so right now is the best time to be calm and centered. But for many people this calm and centered mental place can be difficult to attain.

Our breathing is one way that we can ground ourselves and regain our center. Our breath is something that we rarely focus on yet we must always have. Simply closing the eyes, taking a deep breath into the lower abdomen and slowly exhaling is very simple and very powerful. By focusing on our breath we can turn off the noisy mind that is always fighting for our attention. We all have an inner dialogue that is rarely focused on one thing, instead it is focused on about 1,000 things at once. Only through calming that voice and reclaiming the power of our own mind do we find peace, purpose, and clarity. It can seem paradoxical that by less thinking do we become more focused and productive yet over and over this had been found to be true. Similar to a flashlight compared to a laser, a mind that isn’t coherent and focused will not get as far as a mind that is.

As a daily exercise taking several minutes several times per day and focusing on our breathing and calming the mind will make us more focused on our purpose and values and will help us be more productive as well. Taking time to be in nature is another easy albeit more time consuming way to do this. A mentor of mine told me once that “Nature does not hurry, yet all things are accomplished in perfect order.” There is indeed much we can learn from this observation. For me and the oneness experience of the Rocky Mountains, I know that if I can bring a small slice of this expanded consciousness to my daily life not only will I benefit but everyone that I interact with as well. So go find a spot in nature, feel the sunshine on your face, breathe and be at peace.