Nature Speaks

There are truths that whisper rather than shout – quiet, persistent insights that wait patiently for us to hear them. Leo Tolstoy, though known for the weight and complexity of his novels, also carried within him a deep and simple conviction: that to live well, we must live close to nature.

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken” said Tolstoy

It is a gentle but radical idea. Not a call to escape, but a reminder to return – to something essential, something we too often overlook in the hum of modern life. For Tolstoy, happiness was not a grand achievement or distant goal. It was found in rest, trees, books, silence, slowness, and the rhythm of the natural world.

A Natural State of Well-Being

As a nurse, I often met people who felt worn out by their own lives. They were not broken but disconnected – disconnected from their breath, bodies, and inner lives, and from nature, too, often without even realising it.

Tolstoy believed that health, both physical and emotional, depends on this connection. And modern research supports him: time in nature reduces stress, improves sleep, regulates emotion, and even boosts our capacity for empathy.

But beyond the data, something more intuitive is at play: walking beneath trees, feeling soil beneath your feet, and listening to birdsong instead of traffic are not luxuries – they are nourishment.

The Simplicity We Long For

Tolstoy admired rural life not out of romanticism, but out of reverence for its clarity. He saw in the countryside not just beauty, but truth. Simplicity, in his eyes, was not a lack, but a richness – a return to what matters most.

“Rest, nature, books, music – such is my idea of happiness.” Leo Tolstoy

There is something profoundly sane in this vision. Something we recognise deep down. So often, what we crave is not more stimulation, but more stillness. Not more achievement, but more alignment.

We don’t need to move to a forest to experience this. A quiet walk. A tree seen through an office window. A flower blooming on a balcony. These are small but powerful ways to realign ourselves.

Making Room for the Natural Within

To live close to nature is also to live close to ourselves. Nature invites us to slow down, to notice, to be present – not just with the world, but with our inner landscape.

Try this small practice:

• Step outside for just five minutes.
• Leave your phone behind.
• Observe your surroundings as though you are seeing them anew.
• Breathe and listen.

This is not doing nothing. It is doing something essential: remembering that we belong – to this earth, to our bodies, to something quieter than our to-do lists.

The Freedom of a Simple Joy

Tolstoy was not asking us to withdraw from life, but to deepen our presence within it. To take our wellbeing seriously, not through effort, but through simplicity.

So as you move through your week, ask gently:

• Where is nature calling me today?
• Where would stillness be a kindness?
• What joys have I forgotten to notice?

Allow your life to touch what is natural, slow, and sincere, and perhaps you’ll feel what Tolstoy felt:

That happiness is not something we build, but something we come home to.

#NatureAndWellbeing #TolstoyWisdom #MindfulLiving #MentalHealth #SimpleJoy