When you consider the phrase, "Getting Back To Nature," images of nudists, campers or botanists are conjured up. For me, as I am none of the aforementioned people, the phrase has other meanings.

Not everyone has the confidence to put their bodies on full display or the skill and patience to go camping, but at least most people can have some admiration for flora, like the botanists, although not in the scientific way.

When you decide to walk outside, after a while, all the problems and issues that drove you to walk outside and disconnect from 'real life' have quietened down inside your head, you start to actually notice things about the trees and flowers around you.

You may discover things you like about a plant, its shape, its colour, perhaps. You may find that you dislike certain things about the plant, like its size or the texture of its foliage.

Whatever you notice about things, you may also find that these criticisms or admirations could easily be said about you. For example; do you think that sometimes, like the oak tree in the park, you are too imposing in the surroundings? Or, do you think that, just like the flowers by your garden pond, you would be more attractive with a more fiery colour/personality?

This may seem all a bit ludicrous but, if you consider all the people that you have ever taken a disliking to, especially those you have absolutely hated; of these people you may find that the trait that made you hate them, can be found in your own personality.

Again, considering all the people you have had a misunderstanding with, can show how your perceptions of them are shaped by your own feelings rather than the facts. It is often the case that when one person tells you something such as, "You look good in that blue shirt," it can be taken in several ways according to the person it is said to. One person may take it as a sarcastic comment in order to insult, another may feel suspicious about such a flattering comment, or alternatively another person may reply, "So, you don't think I look good in anything else?"

Misunderstandings like this create your impression of other people, in this case, the flatterer. For example, if it is the sarcasm that is disliked, maybe it is because you yourself have been sarcastic in the past. All these perceptions may look past the fact that you may actually look good in a blue shirt!

Therefore, it may not be such a crazy idea to observe nature to look inside you, rather than picking an argument with someone you dislike in order to identify a fault in yourself.

Nature is always changing, and so these observations change, but as they say, "Our perceptions of the world are shaped by our own subconcious." It is a very valuable exercise to, "Get back to nature," and see what you can learn about yourself through observation, if not just to get a breath of fresh air!