“Attention is the beginning of devotion.” —Mary Oliver
“Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.” —also Mary Oliver
Recently I had the pleasure of coaching someone who I consider to be a masterful naturalist.
A true naturalist doesn’t just study nature—they fall in love with it.
They watch the way a leaf turns toward the sun.
Kneel to inspect the tracks of a fox.
Pause to listen to the wind move through pines.
They find as much majesty in a swamp as in a sunset.
They’ll keep a dead frog in the freezer until they can feed it to dermestid beetles. Then, they save the skeleton to marvel at the miracle of all those tiny bones.
(My first job was at a natural history museum, surrounded by naturalists. You don’t want to know what was in the lunchroom freezer.)
A naturalist’s posture towards the world is never about control or mastery—it’s about reverence.
And they don’t reject any part of nature.
They know every being plays a role in the ecosystem.
They love the “unlovable” creatures without even needing to try.
While coaching this naturalist, I realized our work was simple: They needed to become an Inner Naturalist as well as an outer one.
The goal is to turn toward each emotion and sensation with the same curiosity they offer a spider.
To witness moods and thoughts like a distant storm or a chickadee building its nest.
An outer naturalist finds pleasure in welcoming and celebrating all parts of the wild world around them.
An inner naturalist finds pleasure in welcoming and celebrating all parts of the wild world inside them.
I posit that true peace lies in cultivating both.
Are you willing to bring curiosity, fascination, and grace to everything you see, inside and out?
Naturally yours,
Rachel
PS – Ever ask yourself, “Why aren’t I happier?” If you look around your pretty-good life and wonder that, it’s probably because you’ve built that life from the outside in.
I help people create lives that feel good from the inside out—starting with what actually matters to their soul.
If your heart fluttered reading this, let’s hop on a free consultation and listen to what it’s saying. Just hit reply and we’ll find a time.
