The latest of the “Letters to Nature Kids” is about how I like to use my attention when taking a walk in nature. It describes noticing your breathing and then imagining that your attention is like a light that you can turn toward one thing and another.

I wrote, “When you are outside, try imagining that your attention is a light that you can shine on one thing or another. Put the light on a tree and keep it there for a count of five (or more). Then turn the light toward something nearby and count how long you can keep your attention there.”

This is borrowed from mindfulness, though I’m not trying to teach meditation in this letter. I just want to share some ways to really notice and enjoy things and help strengthen the ability to pay attention.

In the letter, I wrote, “You start narrowing your attention – your flashlight – to a particular flower that has something in it. The flashlight beam gets so narrow that you have to get down near the flower to focus attention that much. The insect is a tiny baby form of a katydid, and look at those black-and-white antennae! Keep the focused light of your attention there a little longer.” The point is to be able to direct our attention purposefully and stay with something long enough to really explore it, like the colors and structure of that primrose flower.

If you know someone who might be interested in this, please share it. Letters to Nature Kids is always a free download (there’s a donation button in the right column of the website for anyone who feels inclined). You can browse all those 25+ letters on the Letters to You page.