By : Sanjeevi Prasad

Nature in Covid Times – A Short Note

An international news channel  showed a video clipping few days back from a few places in the world where there has been a lockdown due to the Corona virus. Dolphins have come back to a coastal city in the ocean. Experts say that this has happened due to absence of human activity.

Human mind sees waves in the ocean as isolated fragments. It sees leaves of the tree as separate parts. But the simple fact is that each wave is an integral part of the ocean. It is not a separate fragment. Similarly, each leaf is an integral part of the tree. Humans perceive parts as separate fragments and forget the whole. In reality, the whole is the most important and the parts should not be considered as fragments.

Nature is the whole, trees, plants, birds, animals, humans etc. are only parts of the whole.

How do we get back to this Natural State? By simply being with Nature. Silent Presence / Awareness. Humans do not need to do anything to heal Nature, to begin with, Simply be with Nature and listen to it. Nature heals everything at its own pace.

How do we spend time with Nature while carrying on with our daily lives? We know what we can do during vacations – watching the ocean, mountains, lakes, birds, trees, plants etc. Few of the easiest ways to spend time with Nature on a daily basis here in India are watching sunrise, sunset, sky, clouds, birds etc. wherever we are, we can do these activities on the terrace, near the windows, outside our homes, in the parks or even while walking on the road. If it rains we can watch the rain falling.

Do we do anything when we eat in order to digest the food? Do we do anything while drinking water in order to spread water inside throughout the body? Nature is at work even within our bodies. We hardly notice our breathing until we have difficulty with it.

So breathing awareness could also be watching Nature. Simply being aware of our physical and mental activities could also be considered as spending time with Nature. We are integral elements of Nature.