Highland Climate Festival Nature-Connection Activities

Sit Spot

Sit Spot is a simple but powerful practice that encourages you to become more mindful; to connect with nature; to cultivate a deeper awareness of yourself and others; and most importantly to cultivate a deeper understanding of the relationship that you have with the natural world.

Very simply, find yourself a place where you can comfortably sit and just ‘be’, immersing yourself in the world around you, engaging with it through all your senses and reconnecting with the rhythms of the natural world. If you cannot get outside, but can sit by a window with a view of nature, that will do just fine. Then give yourself permission to simply sit, observe and be present. Turn your attention to each of your sense individually. Notice what you can see, what you can hear, what you can smell, what you can feel and what you can taste. When thoughts arise, gently bring yourself back to your sense; to the sounds, sights, smells and feel of your surroundings. When you sit quietly, you might be surprised at what you notice around you and the wildlife that reveals itself to you when you pose no threat.

An ideal length of time to practice Sit Spot is 20 to 30 minutes, but you may find that starting with 10 minutes and building up to half an hour is easiest. Whilst Sit Spot can be practiced anywhere and anytime, if you have a regular Sit Spot that you can go to a few times a week, then you will gain a real insight into, and greater appreciation of, the changes that occur over time as the seasons change.

There are three important factors to consider when choosing your Sit Spot:

First, it is best to find somewhere fairly quiet and away from other people with relatively little distraction if you can, although you should also feel safe in this place.

Second, there should be some components of nature present, so ideally you should at least be outdoors if you can. However, if this is not an option but you can sit inside by a window with a view of nature, then go with that. If you can open the window even better!

Finally, the convenience of your spot is really important as the closer your Sit Spot is to your home, the more likely you are to visit it regularly. It should ideally be less than a five-minute walk from your front door (or place of work if you are doing your Sit Spot during lunchtime).