We will not hold a Sunday service on Christmas Day. If you are looking for something to do during that time on December 25, you may want to consider a meditative walk or sit as your ability and the weather allows.

Consider this:

Two Mindfulness Practices to Help You Tune Into Nature

Practice 1: Walk and Notice

Take a walk and notice the beauty that you see, a gratitude and appreciation practice that can elevate your mood.

Take the time to really look at your favorite tree, explore a park, and notice something new, a practice that will spark creativity.

Gaze at the shapes that nature has created, as well as spaces between them, reflecting on what the Japanese call “ma,” the “negative space” between forms that is just as important as the objects themselves.

And as you walk, notice what has changed and is changing as you pass the same spot. And don’t just walk, take some time to sit in nature. And as you sit, consider stepping out of clock time and connecting with nature’s time and rhythms.

Practice 2: Sit and Notice

Open your window or sit outside, feel the fresh air, and listen to the sounds of nature.

Sit until the fog burns off…

Sit until the sun warms your face ….

Sit until the snow ends… or begins….

Watch an animal…

Sit and watch a shadow until it has crossed your path…

Sit until the birds finish their song…

If you can, sit beneath a tree and consider the “negative space” between the branches ….

If you can, sit near the river and watch the water as it moves around rocks and maybe ice ….

Or simply sit until that cloud completely changes shape, and disappears or passes on the horizon….