In a few minutes, we’ll head out for the evening. We’ll walk up the hill to a place about ten minutes away, and there we will sit in the forest and listen. We’ll listen, we’ll look, and we’ll just relax. These are my most relaxing ten minutes of the day, and they are a wonderful bonding time with my daughter. We’ve created a sit spot, a tradition that I’m hoping to continue on throughout the summer months.
A sit spot is just that: a spot where you sit. It’s a lot more than that too. By going to a place day after day, your ability to notice increases. You notice similarities. If you go there at the same time every day, it’s likely that you will hear the same birds singing. You’ll also notice differences. Last night we heard a frog croaking. We rarely hear them croaking, even though the pond is full of them. If we didn’t go every night, we wouldn’t have heard it singing.
A sit spot is relaxing. It’s a place to go to connect with nature. It doesn’t need to be fancy or far away. Ours is near the entrance of a little park. It’s near a pond and just above a small creek, and it’s surrounded by trees. Your could be in a garden or under a tree, or it could be an early morning spent on your balcony, listening to the animals and the city wake up and watching the sun rise.
A sit spot gives you time to appreciate nature. There are no expectations: the only expectation is that you will sit and watch and listen. You’ll see what comes to you, and that is all. Sometimes what comes will be an idea, and sometimes what comes will be an animal. Sometimes it is just a meditative place to be.
Stopping and sitting is a lost art in this day and age. Try it, and see if you and your children enjoy it.