Mindfulness at the start of spring

Awareness of the senses

The beginning of spring presents a great opportunity to use the senses to return to the present moment. The colours, scents and sounds of the natural world returning to activity are like invitations to bring our full awareness to the experience of seeing, smelling and hearing.

Information is always arriving at our sense organs. We can choose which sensory input we give our awareness and attention to. Since our senses detect present-moment changes in our environment, turning our attention to the stimuli arriving at our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin can help ground us in the here and now.

Short moments of mindful awareness outdoors can deepen nature’s restorative qualities, and nature can steady and support our awareness.1,2 The brief practices below are simple invitations to pause and bring attention to the world around you, using the senses as anchors to the present moment.

Taking in the view, taking in the detail

Spring is hinted at with the arrival of snowdrops. Clusters of crocuses start to arrive several weeks later and daffodils, sometimes scented, follow not long after this. Cherry blossoms and magnolia soon start adding to the explosion of colours and scents, and fresh new buds full of green potential appear on trees and shrubs.

Consider an experiment: take in a vista of flowers; or really study the detail in a single bloom, or leaf bud. Be wholly with the experience of seeing colours, textures and shapes for the period of a few breaths. What was this experience like for you?

Stop and smell the flowers

Magnolia, cherry blossom, narcissus and various other flowering plants and trees contribute to the fragrance of spring. Why not — allergies permitting — take a deep breath alongside a blossom. While doing so, pay attention to whether you detect anything through your sense of smell. Really be with the experience in that moment of sensing fragrance while breathing in. How was this for you?

The sounds of spring

The various species of birds living in the city are in the process of becoming more active. Evidence of this is their increasingly prominent morning song (or increasingly raucous chatter if you have seagulls in residence).

If you have the opportunity, take a few moments to sit outside and take in the sounds of spring. Notice the different sounds and allow yourself to be with how it is to hear them.

The mind will probably begin labelling what it hears and this is OK, but also see if it is possible to be with the sounds before they gather too much additional meaning. Notice how it is to bring your awareness to the experience of sound for the period of a few breaths. Did this support a sense of moving a little closer to the here and now?

Try experimenting with the other ways in which your senses collect the sights, sounds, textures, scents and tastes of spring.

The senses and mindfulness

In any given moment, our body receives a multitude of information through its senses. Mindfulness is knowing what is happening while it is happening. How we sense the natural world can help support our practice and understanding of mindfulness. Bringing our awareness to how we experience the natural world helps support an embodied sense of what it means to be more present in the moment.

 

1. Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, “Being Present in Nature: 10 Practical Exercises You Can Try,” accessed March 2, 2026, https://www.wwt.org.uk/discover-wetlands/blog/being-present-in-nature-10-practical-exercises-you-can-try

2. William Van Gordon, Edo Shonin, and Miles Richardson, “Mindfulness and Nature,” Mindfulness 9 (2018): 1655–1658, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0883-6