In moments of high anxiety, I often seek out nature and the opportunity to be mindful in fresh air. “Touch grass” is, perhaps, an overused and sarcastic term, but I find it fitting for how I cope with bouts of acute anxiety—and my goodness, has 2025 started off flaring up my anxiety!
I often go outside with my deaf, arthritic,12-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, Sir Gawain. While he slowly wanders through the backyard to his heart’s content, I tend to remove my shoes and step into the grass (which is crisp and brown right now). I gaze up at the clouds and take several moments to breathe and feel the breeze on my skin. I listen to the birds, or the sounds of distant cars, or the cries of laughter from the neighborhood children. I watch Sir Gawain sniff the air and mark his favorite spots as he lumbers this way and that across the yard. It’s so peaceful in this moments, and my anxiety calms. Of course, all this is possible in here in Georgia, where gray, mild, winter days are the norm.
But what if you can’t take a moment to step outside? Or what if your winter days are bitterly cold?
You can read poetry!
Bashō was one of the most prominent poets of Japan’s 17th century. He was a master of the form that would become the haiku, a form of poetry made of three unrhyming lines of five syllables, seven syllables, and another five syllables. I love reading Bashō’s poems because they are little glimpses into what he was observing in nature. Before the photograph, Bashō’s words are moments in time captured in verse. Take a moment to breathe before reading them to yourself:
25
Do not forget the plum,
blooming
in the thicket.
26
Spring air—
woven moon
and plum scent.
27
Mountain path—
sun rising
through plum scent.
55
Yellow rose petals
thunder—
a waterfall.
63
Winter downpour—
even the monkey
needs a raincoat.
88
Cuckoo—
sing, fly, sing,
then start again.
93
Peony—,
the bee can’t bear
to part.
250
Dew-drops—
how better wash away
world’s dust?
Poetry has a great way of bringing us into the present, of allowing us moments of mindfulness and peace. This week, I encourage you to read more Bashō or another poet of haikus. Take time to breathe and center yourself in moments of calm. Life is hectic, and the world is chaotic. It’s so important we find instances of peace.
This week, Sir Gawain and I will be walking in our backyard, and I’ll be reading and writing haikus.
References
“Bashō.” The Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/basho. Accessed 8 February 2025.
Bashō. On Love and Barley—Haiku of Bashō. Translated by Lucien Stryk, Penguin Classics, 1985.