Natural Exploration

I called my 5-year-old sister this Thursday.

My aunt received the phone and said: "We are playing outside now. Your younger sister played nearly two hours, but still do not want to go home."

My hometown is located in the northeast of China. It is very cold in winter and the average temperature is -18 ℃. I cannot believe that she can play for a long time in such cold weather.

My aunt said: "This is the process of enjoying nature. If you have time, I suggest that you try it and pay attention on your walk. This is the best way for you to understand why children love playing in nature."

Originally, I just possess the purpose of exploring to start my "journey". While I go out of my apartment, a cold wind blows. Suddenly, some negative thought emerge in my head and I begin to complain the cold weather. The word of boring can describe my initial mood. I walk aimlessly and doubt that whether young children enjoy playing and walking in winter or not. Because I look at my surroundings, there is no difference than every time I see, such as cars, houses, ice and snow. I feel confused and disappointed.

I stop walking and close my eyes when I hesitated. Gradually, my blundering heart calm down. I hear sounds from birds, crows, cars, wind, trees and crunching the snow. The sounds mix together seems as symphony. I deeply experience the pleasure of sound. I open my eyes and look up at the sky. The blue sky, white clouds and brilliant sunshine make me feel the beautiful nature. Smell it, the air full of snow’s smell. I do not know how to describe it. All in all, the smell is delicate. In fact, under the busy life, I forget to enjoy the nature for a long time.

 I continue to walk in order to catch the nature which I seem to lose. Looking at surroundings, my mood is different than prior time. I feel comfortable, pleased and active to enjoy nature through walking. I always consider that winter is white, yet through observing, I find white does not stand for winter. Green pine tree, brown aspen’s limb, red leaves, yellow fallen leaves, grey stone, blue sky and golden sunshine make winter like a huge palette. I find many different color leaves and put them into my transparent bottle. Through these leaves, I feel that winter is not boring just as my life. No matter life is tough, I believe that I can see the “rainbow” at last through my effort and determination.

When I am on my way to my home, two men who hold bags go to their car in a hurry. I think I always do the similar things like them and have no time to experience surrounding things and natural view. Finishing this “journey”, I feel that I regain the ability of enjoying natural and surrounding life. In addition, I retrieve my childhood memory and know the reason why children love observing, exploring and enjoying nature. I love this experience.

Through this wonderful "journey", I suggest that parents should spent your precious time on enjoying and exploring nature with kids. It is not good for children to boost creativity, but also is good for you to reduce stress. Besides, this exploring process can enhance family bonds.

Useful websites for natural exploration:

Nature Rocks

BioKids