Start With a Walk: How Nature Helped Me Quiet My Mind

Eight years ago, I made a decision that, at the time, seemed almost reckless. I was raising two young kids. I was running a business. My life felt like it was on fast forward-always rushing, always planning, always juggling. So what did I do? I got a dog. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I didn’t get a dog because I had extra time. I got one because I didn’t. I needed something to force me to slow down. To walk. To step outside the chaos in my head. I had just started noticing how noisy my mind really was-constant to-do lists, worries, unfinished conversations, future plans spinning on loop. I didn’t know how to stop it, but I knew I had to try. So I began walking every day.

Not scrolling, not rushing-just walking. Through parks. Down tree-lined streets. Sometimes with my kids, sometimes alone. And slowly, I started to see again. The way sunlight filters through branches. The sound of wind moving through tall grass. The rhythm of footsteps on a quiet path. Nature-just by being there-started to do something to me. It asked nothing of me but presence.

In Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, Dacher Keltner explains how experiences of awe-those moments that make us feel small in the best way-actually shift our brain activity. They quiet the default mode network, the part of the brain that houses our inner narrator. That voice that constantly says “you’re not doing enough” or “what if it goes wrong?” begins to fade when we’re in the presence of something vast and beautiful. Keltner writes, “Awe pulls us out of our own heads and into the world.”

That’s exactly what happened to me. The more I walked, the more I noticed. The changing colours of the leaves in the fall. The way wildflowers bloom in places no one planted them. Strangers smiling as we passed. Birds nesting, squirrels chasing each other, branches swaying. My mind, usually so loud, started to soften. Eventually, these walks weren’t just breaks from my day-they became the best part of it.

There’s research to back this up, too. Studies have shown that spending time in nature can reduce anxiety, lower cortisol levels, and improve attention span. A 2015 Stanford study even found that people who walked in natural environments showed reduced activity in the brain associated with rumination-the obsessive, negative thought loops we often get stuck in. Nature heals, but only if we let it.

If your mind feels too busy lately, or life feels like it’s running you instead of the other way around, start small. Walk. Go outside. Leave your phone behind. Breathe. Look. Notice the sky. Watch the way the leaves move. Pay attention to the beauty that’s been quietly waiting for you.

For me, it's trees. I’ve taken hundreds of photos of trees from all over the world. There’s something about their groundedness, their slow growth, their silent wisdom. They remind me that life isn’t meant to be rushed. That growth doesn’t happen overnight. That standing still can be powerful.

So I’ll leave you with this question: What’s your favorite thing in nature? Maybe it’s the ocean. Maybe it’s birdsong. Maybe it’s mountain air or soft moss under your feet. Whatever it is, let it pull you into the now. Let it be your starting point. It could change everything.

Sometimes, all it takes is a walk-and a little wonder.