(Sometime in the middle of Summer)
After doing a nightshift, my body clock is not right. It should be getting dark, not getting light. Yet here I am, or here I was, sitting on the bench, doing some mindfulness while looking at the canal in front of me shadowed by the green of the trees. I'm deafened by the natural peaceful noises going on around me. All the different bird calls, the ducks splashing in the water, the occasional early cyclist behind me, and off in the distance the hum of traffic. People just starting their day while here mine is at the end. I'm tired. But I feel really good. Mindfulness or being in nature (even if it's on a metal bench on the ground with fag butts and Heineken cans and the noise of cars) can be so beneficial to mental health. Water is nature. The birds around you are nature. The trees are nature. The grass is nature. It's so easy to be in nature. Even if you live in a big city and struggle to find any greenspace, sit somewhere and watch the birds. Even if its some pigeons. Focus on their behaviour, what they do, how they react to people or other pigeons. It's so useful for your brain to reconnect with nature in anyway you can.