Gratitude

Well, it seems the holiday season is upon us, but to be honest I’m a little confused. At the beginning of November, I spent my last shopping trip dodging Christmas decorations! They are everywhere! So I had to ask myself, “Did I miss Thanksgiving???” I know I didn’t (I’m not THAT old and forgetful), but it does seem everyone is in a hurry to get to Christmas and poor old Thanksgiving just sort of gets lost in the shuffle. I’m a little bit old school, and I catch a lot of grief for refusing to put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. I don’t know about most of you, but I like Thanksgiving. I like the thought of food, family, friends, more food…just the overall feeling of gratitude to be together giving thanks for what we have.

And there’s a lot to be said for gratitude. No less a source than the Harvard Medical School did a study which identified a correlation between gratitude and happiness, saying that these feelings help us cope with all sorts of stresses and problems. Further research also suggested it improves our physical as well as mental health, and helps us connect to something larger than ourselves. And we sometimes need all the help we can get to survive something like a drawn-out holiday season between Halloween and Christmas.

So what am I grateful for? Family of course, friends, and good health. This wonderful state and country I call home. And I’ve discovered that with very little effort I can find something to be grateful for every day I spend out on the Palmetto Trail.

I’m grateful for the songs of birds, that incredible blue sky we get here on a crisp fall day, times when I catch a glimpse of a fox or a white-tailed deer or some other animal going about their business (although they’re probably not too grateful that I’m out there disturbing them!), sunrises and sunsets— the overall wonder and majesty of this land we live in. The fact that I have a job that lets me be outside to enjoy what nature has to offer makes me a pretty lucky guy. Speaking of luck, I was lucky enough to grow up with folks who shared the wonder of the natural world with me, and I’m grateful to them for that gift. I’ve tried to pass it on, both within my own family, and to the young people I’ve been blessed to work with. It’s worth sharing.

If you haven’t explicitly thought about being grateful for the natural world around you, here are some ideas to get you started:

Stop and listen—really listen—to the sounds around you, to the birds, bugs, and even the wind.

Take a “gratitude walk” and invite someone to share what makes them grateful.

• Do something to express your gratitude to the natural world, like put up a bird feeder, start a compost pile or pick up litter on the trail. Be clear to yourself that you are doing these things because you’re grateful, (not because it makes me happy you are helping me keep the trail clean!)

• Notice things! Pay attention to things around you, how a bee interacts with a flower, that inquisitive lizard staring at you from a nearby branch. I once hiked with a group of Boy Scouts that we called the “Walk Fast, See Nothing” patrol. They would get to their destination in record time but in the process would walk right past snakes, turtles, exotic looking plants, you name it, without even a clue that it was there! The Scoutmaster and I were constantly stopping them and asking “did you see that animal?” or “did you see that view?” or “did you recognize that plant?” They were definitely a work in progress! So slow down and be aware of your surroundings. There’s a lot of magical stuff out there in nature just waiting to be discovered.

So let me close by saying I’m extremely grateful for all the wonderful people I’ve met while working with the Palmetto Trail. If you’d like to plan a guided hike, or to volunteer for an opportunity on the Trail, please get in touch with me at fmiller@palmettoconservation.org. I’ll be “grateful” for the opportunity to meet up with you. Happy Holidays!

See you on the trail!