What will you do with your extra day this Leap Year?
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
This quote has always struck me as profound, and is a reminder that amongst the difficulties of living, we have to find a way to live this one life in a way that is meaningful, helpful and rewarding to ourselves and others. Now I can’t tackle that in a short blog, but I can use it to inform what we could do with that extra day that comes to us once every four years. And, from that, perhaps we can adjust our life balance so that we are resilient to the stresses of an over-busy digital world.
Much of what Oliver refers to in her poetry forms the basis of advice in many current mental health approaches: the present moment, nature, and gratitude.
Living in the present moment
Right now, this present moment is real, and it’s the only time in which you are able to make a difference to your life. The past has been, and the future is yet to come and you have no power over either. Yet, we often live in our head in both these imagined spaces as an automatic default; we are elsewhere except here.
But, you do have power over what you do in this moment by choosing something helpful (constructive meaningful action to you) over automatic harmful behaviours (doomscrolling, comfort eating, worrying, ruminating, avoiding).
Every present moment passes into your life and becomes your past, so when you focus on the quality of the present moment, you also have the opportunity to create good memories, making your past a better time to remember.
Appreciating Nature
Spending over 2 hours in nature each week is associated with consistently higher wellbeing, and importantly this effect cuts across different socio-economic and ethnic groups.
Take time to recognise how nature enters your life and grow your connection to the outdoor flora, fauna, weather, fresh air and green space. You don’t need to be in a forest; city life has much nature in it to discover.
Share your experiences by taking photos, videos and sound recordings and upload to social media to share the benefits and remind others of them.
Talk more about nature with others and discover joint ways of spending more time together in it: wild or outdoor swimming, bird watching, fishing, walking or jogging, cycling etc.
Gratitude
Gratitude fosters an attitude of optimism. It refocuses our minds on what is good in our lives rather than what is bad. It is not a way to ignore the difficulties in life, in fact we can even be grateful for challenges that make us go the extra mile for ourselves, and for others, that end up shaping us positively.
Across all history and in every culture across the world, either through prayer or spiritual reflection in any religion, being thankful for the sun, the rain, the crops, the people, health, the food, etc., has been a constant human behaviour from which our species has benefitted mentally. Yet, over the last fifty years we have lost sight of this as many of these practices have declined, giving way to the new worship of a commercial and greedy world, and the simple yet important things are overlooked.
It’s not that we need a religion per se, but practising gratitude is something that balances the mind and tempers its pull to the negative and fearful.
Instead of being grateful for the sensation of warm water and smelling the gel in our morning shower, we think about the problems of the day ahead. Instead of being grateful for a loved one's company, we look at our phone and wonder what or who we are missing a message from. Instead of tuning into nature around us and being grateful for trees and bees, we worry about things we have no control over that might never happen. This limits the authentic connection and joy we have with other people and our planet.
How to use these three things on your extra leap year day
Begin the day by walking as much as you can to/from/during work. Challenge yourself to heighten your senses to see, hear and smell any aspect of nature. Notice it’s not easy and your mind will want to distract you. Allow yourself to wonder at the constant presence of other living organisms and that we are not separate from this world, nor superior to it.
Notice how you actually feel on this day. Be aware of being on automatic pilot mode, change your usual routine, and smatter your day with helpful thoughts and actions of gratitude and kindness. Slow down, take regular deeper breaths and release tension in your shoulders, and tell yourself what you need to hear…that you are a good person who does the best they can with the resources given.
Notice what allows you to do a good job and be grateful for these things and your personal qualities. Be grateful for the support and help of those around you and for the chance to contribute to what you believe in.
In these mindful moments you are more able to show yourself compassion and the world more gratitude.
Summary
Becoming more aware and present than usual in the current moments of time, recognising and appreciating something simple and showing your gratitude internally to yourself and externally to others, brings many psychological benefits. Nature is a great doorway to these thoughts and behaviours and helps us see the wonder of life on earth and our connection within it. Do this every day of your life and it will help you experience good and satisfying times within your one wild and precious life.