Reconnecting with Nature

Tiny rituals that reconnect you to the world.

Sometimes healing doesn’t come from therapy, meds, or insight. Sometimes it comes from walking the same sidewalk every morning. Feeding your cat. Watching a seed sprout. Small acts of care that ask almost nothing of you—but offer everything in return.

This chapter is about those quiet things.

🐾 Animals

Whether it’s a dog, a goldfish, or a squirrel you say hi to on the fire escape—animals can bring structure, connection, and comfort.

Why they help:

• They don’t care about your diagnosis

• They offer unconditional presence

• Caring for them gives you a reason to get up

• Their routines help regulate yours

You don’t need to adopt a pet to benefit:

• Visit a cat café or shelter

• Watch wildlife outside your window

• Pet-sit for a friend

• Follow animal TikToks or livestreams

If you do have a pet, it’s okay to lean on them emotionally. Just remember—they rely on you too. If you’re struggling to care for them, ask for help. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

🌱 Plants

Plants don’t talk. They don’t expect. They don’t judge. But they do respond.

Why they help:

• They teach you to nurture something gently

• They give you something to watch grow

• Watering can be a grounding ritual

• Some improve air quality and natural light response

You don’t have to be a plant expert:

• Try a pothos, snake plant, or spider plant—very low-maintenance

• Name your plants. Talk to them.

• Watering = a moment of mindfulness

If you don’t have light or energy for real plants, even fake ones, drawings, or photos of plants can bring some of the same calm.

🚶‍♀️ Walking

Walking is movement without pressure. It doesn’t have to be for exercise or productivity—it can be a ritual, a loop, a way of saying “I’m still here.”

Why it helps:

• Regulates breath and body tension

• Gives your mind something to follow

• Reconnects you to your surroundings

• Works during dissociation, restlessness, or sadness

If you can’t go far, that’s okay:

• Walk up and down the hallway

• Walk around your block

• Walk to a place that feels familiar

• Walk with music or in silence

• Walk the same path every day—make it sacred

Some people walk during flashbacks. Some people walk through depression. Some people walk just to feel time pass. All of it counts.