Despite the festive lights and trees, the holidays aren’t all presents and laughter. Maybe it’s stress, financial pressure, or even grief, but at times we can all experience some form of the holiday blues. If you’re feeling down this holiday season, these are just a few ways that nature can help you find moments of peace and joy.
I’ve never been big on the idea of meditation. Though I acknowledge the proven benefits and how it helps many people, I have a hard time slowing down. Laying down indoors with my eyes closed sounds like the opposite of relaxing.
However, when I’m outside and around plants, I feel an immediate sense of peace—similar to what many people describe feeling when they practice meditation.
During the busy, sometimes stressful holiday season, I find myself seeking out this sense of peace even more often.
So, whether you’re like me or you’re a pro at traditional meditation, I thought I’d share some of my favourite ways to cultivate a sense of peace using nature. If this season is feeling more dark than sparkly, these activities can help lift your spirits.
- My Version of Meditation
- Garden Meditation for the Holiday Blues
- Get Fresh Air
- Forage for Plant Materials
- Meditate With Your Plant
- Sit and do a Craft
- Smell Fragrant Herbs
- Read a Gardening Book
- Organize Your Seeds
- Look at Holiday Decorations
- Plant Some Winter Bloomers
- More Ways to Enjoy Peace This Holiday Season
My Version of Meditation
From overwhelming to-do lists and busy schedules to family and financial pressures, there’s no shortage of stress in our everyday lives. At times, it can feel completely overwhelming. So, for years, I’ve been using garden therapy to cope with life’s various stressors and help boost my mental and physical health.
During the holidays especially, I have learned to find ways of managing my stress and boosting my mood. For me, using natural materials for crafting has been an especially helpful activity that allows me to work toward a fun goal.
As my holiday crafting for this year has begun, I’ve started to think of it as a meditation of sorts. It’s a simple way to connect with nature and find inner peace even in a dysregulated environment.
If, like me, you struggle to slow down and take deep breaths during the hustle and bustle of December, know that you don’t have to sit still or use a recording to enjoy the benefits of meditation. Simply finding small, mindful moments can have a huge impact on stress levels and overall well-being.
So if you’re having a one-off stressful day or you’re going through a bout of the holiday blues, try to find just a few moments to connect with nature, whether you go outside or bring nature indoors.
Garden Meditation for the Holiday Blues
As I mentioned, crafting with nature has been a game changer when it comes to improving my mood during the hectic holiday months. But it’s not the only nature-based activity that brings me a sense of calm inner peace.
If you’re looking for ways to slow down this season and enjoy some peaceful time to yourself, here are a few of my favourite ways to connect with nature that are sure to help with any holiday blues you might be experiencing.
Get Fresh Air
Simply spending time outside is one of the most effective tools for improving your mood, whether it’s during the winter or not. It’s been proven time and time again that enjoying nature improves mental health. Trust me, even taking a short walk around your neighbourhood can do wonders.
When I go for walks, I like to focus on using all my senses. This time of year, I look at the holiday decorations and note how the chilly air feels in my lungs. Taking deep breaths will give you energy and make your blood circulate.
You can also focus on the plants that you pass by and notice what they’re doing. Which ones still have leaves and which have shed them for the winter?
Forage for Plant Materials
Another activity to do outside is collecting plant materials, like evergreens, pinecones, or leaves. You can do this in your yard or in a public space that allows foraging.
Not only is the act of finding and collecting these pieces of nature meditative in itself, but you can also use them for different crafts and projects, which are great mood boosters.
Meditate With Your Plant
Like I mentioned, traditional meditation has never been something that worked for me. However, one way that I like to practice mindfulness is by using my houseplants. It might sound silly, but I find it to be a nice way to reset and connect with a living being.
Try spending just five minutes with one of your favourite plants. You can look at and notice the different colours and textures of its leaves, or if it needs watering or trimming, you can tend to it. Even this short amount of time can be enough to change your mood.
Creating or spending time interacting with a little zen garden is another great way to practice meditation and bring nature inside during these cold, dark months.
Sit and do a Craft
If you’re like me and struggle with the idea of sitting still to meditate, I highly suggest crafting as a more hands-on relaxing activity.
Being creative is a great way to get out of your head, and using plant-based ingredients like herbs and essential oils can create an even more relaxing experience.
Homemade items like bath bombs and lotion bars also make great presents, so you can give the gift of relaxation to your loved ones too.
If you want to get in touch with your creative side with some homemade products, I have a natural holiday gift workshop full of DIYs that you can try out.
Smell Fragrant Herbs
Another one of my favourite ways to connect with nature and ground myself is by using fragrant herbs.
If you have fragrant herbs like rosemary or sage in your garden, pulling some and smelling them can be a lovely way to enjoy a moment of mindfulness in nature. Maybe you even have some leftover lavender or mint that you rub between your hands.
For those without an herb garden, pine or evergreen works just well to help bring a sense of focus and balance.
Read a Gardening Book
Sometimes simply relaxing is the best antidote to any winter blues or holiday stress you might be experiencing. One of my personal favourite relaxing activities is sitting down with a gardening book.
Not only can a book help you unwind, but reading about gardening is also a great way to stay connected to your gardening self, even in the winter.
Organize Your Seeds
Similarly, I find that taking time during the winter to organize my seeds is another nice way to stay in touch with my garden.
Since organizing is a more hands-on, methodical activity, it feels like a form of meditation in itself. Plus, it provides a chance to start planning my spring garden, which is always a good mood booster and gives me something to look forward to.
Look at Holiday Decorations
Sometimes the best way to cope with the holiday blues is to lean into the festivities. My favourite low-pressure (and free) way to do this is by looking at holiday decorations.
Admiring other people’s decorations is a nice way to spend time outside and brighten up your day. You could also visit a public garden to see their decorations and lights.
Plant Some Winter Bloomers
While most people think of the warmer months as gardening season, there are also plenty of beautiful things that can be planted in the winter.
My favourite winter bloomers are fragrant plants and shrubs like viburnum, sarcococca, and winter flowering daphne. There’s something magical about the bursts of aroma these give off when I’m walking around my garden during this time of year.
If you’re interested in getting your hands in the dirt this season, I have a whole post dedicated to winter gardening.
I wish you a joyful and relaxed holiday season. Remember to stick to your own boundaries and put yourself first. Self-care is a year-round thing!
