For the northern hemisphere, spring arrives officially as the sun passes over the equator at 12 noon. For us here in the UK, that’s 9.01 am today!
Yesterday I was joined online by a wonderful group of coaches from around the world, in a free seasonal reflection. I host these ‘seasonal shifts’ as a quiet space to reflect and savour.
Here is a three step guide to savouring life this springtime.
In good company
I shared a simple 3 step savouring practice, adapted from positive psychologists Bryant and Verhof, and ‘Being in Nature’ by myself and Lee Evans.
During the practice – which involved self-reflection as well as group discussion – I shared video from the ‘stork cam’ at Knepp, Sussex. We did our reflection in the company of these beautiful creatures, as they sat and tended their nest of 4 eggs. Storks were reintroduced to the UK at Knepp a few years ago after a 600 year absence – and continue to breed more successfully each year.
Springing time
Old English ‘springan’, means ‘to leap, burst forth, fly up; spread, grow.’ The season actually travels at a more sedate pace of around 2 miles per hour, and takes about three weeks to cover the 874 miles from the bottom to the top of the UK. Wildlife accompany spring at a range of rates. Speedy ladybirds move northwards at 6.5mph, versus the more sedate first leafing of oak trees, which migrate at 1.3mph.
For us people, greater light levels are essential for a range of health benefits, and trigger production of mood-boosting serotonin. We are part of nature too. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that we respond to the seasons and their accompanying natural communities.
There is a comforting inevitability to these cycles and their pacing, and our own inter-dependence with nature. As American author and naturalist Hal Borland put it, “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn”. Perhaps reflecting on this may help us be kind and patient with ourselves, as we plan the changes in our own lives.
Savouring
The practice is simple. Why not try it in your garden, in a nearby park, or looking out of your window!The start of
- Anticipation. What am I looking forward to in this experience, right now, or being with Nature? What else am I looking forward to, if I extend the time horizon out further? To next year, or next season, as appropriate. What else am I anticipating?
- Reflection. Now look back. What am I grateful for in my life recently? Perhaps an act of love or friendship, something related to health and wellbeing, something creative I have accomplished, or something of spiritual meaning to me. If I reminisce now, what are the feelings I notice?
- The present moment. And finally back to the present. This moment. How does it feel to be right here, right now? How does my head feel, my heart, my stomach?
The next seasonal shift
The summer equinox is early in the morning of 21 June. I’ll be hosting another ‘seasonal shift’ session to mark the occasion, at 5pm BST, Sunday 22 June 2025.
You can book here. Meanwhile – happy equinox!
Buy Being in Nature
You buy our book ‘Being in Nature’ from our shop – and find 20 practices to help you and your clients and community make the most of your time outdoors this spring.
“This book is beautifully written, beautifully illustrated and beautifully designed – in short it’s a little treat.”
Professor Jonathan Passmore, Henley Business School and SVP at Ezra Coaching
Join our coaching programme and learn to partner your work with Nature
There are a few places left on our forthcoming training for coaches. Find out more here.
How savouring with Nature works
Savoring is an important psychological process that is distinct from related concepts such as coping, pleasure, positive affect, emotional intelligence, flow, and meditation. Practices such as these, as well as tried and tested meditations such as loving-kindness, might increase savouring and making positive emotions a lasting part of our day. (Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers)
Research has shown that 10 minutes in nature is enough to reduce stress and anxiety, and that 25 minutes can restore our attention and enable us to be more imaginative and creative. We can use this extra imagination and creativity to partner with nature in our planning for the coming year. (Meredith GR, Rakow DA, Eldermire ERB, Madsen CG, Shelley SP, Sachs NA. Minimum Time Dose in Nature to Positively Impact the Mental Health of College-Aged Students, and How to Measure It: A Scoping Review. Front Psychol. 2020 Jan 14;10:2942)
Savouring benefits us in the moment, and its effects have been found to last way beyond the experience itself. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Investigating Healthy Minds (CIHM) has identified that savoring things like a beautiful sunset and the positive emotions associated with it can contribute to improved well-being. (Heller, A. S., van Reekum, C. M., Schaefer, S. M., Lapate, R. C., Radler, B. T., Ryff, C. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2013). Sustained Striatal Activity Predicts Eudaimonic Well-Being and Cortisol Output. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2191-2200)
The exact mechanisms that allows turns experiences into traits that are established in brain and body remain mysterious. The duration of activity in specific circuits of the brain—especially the ventral stratum – can predict the persistence of a positive emotion minutes and hours later. Even when the initial experience is only a few seconds long. (Aaron S. Heller, Andrew S. Fox, Erik K. Wing, Kaitlyn M. McQuisition, Nathan J. Vack and Richard J. Davidson, The Neurodynamics of Affect in the Laboratory Predicts Persistence of Real-World Emotional Responses, Journal of Neuroscience, 22 July 2015, 35 (29) 10503-10509)
Farrell, J. & Evans, L. (2021) Being in Nature – 20 Practices to help you flourish in a busy world. Nature Connection Books.