Sit Spot
The Benefits of a Sit Spot
“For a time, I rest in the grace of the world and am free." – Wendell Berry
When I was a child, and the world was overwhelming, I would wander near a local pond and sit under a massive Eastern Redbud tree.
Here, I watched ladybugs, ants, and bees. I’d see caterpillars turning into butterflies. I even once found an injured turtle — whom I named Peg Leg because he was missing a portion of one leg. For weeks, I brought him fruit to eat until one day, when he made his journey back to the edge of the nearby pond. I would occasionally see him sunning himself on a rock or log.
This is an example of a sit spot - or a place where you can regularly rest in nature.
As adults, we also need a special place to go when we need to reflect, find solace, and just be. That’s the beauty of sit spots—there’s no doing, no achieving.
A sit spot is a place to visit regularly. Start with a few minutes daily and build up as long as you want. Twenty minutes is good because it flows with our ultradian rhythms, natural, undulating energy cycles that are part of our body clock.
A sit spot can be at a local park under a big tree, on a prairie full of sunflowers, or even sitting indoors in a comfortable place where you can see outside. (Research has shown that even being able to see birds from your window has positive mental health benefits.)
My regular sit spot is my backyard garden, where I’ve been creating a pesticide-free, pollinator-friendly landscape for a decade.
I come out here every day and spend time noticing.
One afternoon, I noticed this fritillary had been attracted to an orange zinnia.
Zinnias are prolific blooming flowers all season, making them a perfect food for all sorts of butterflies, which is why I planted them.
I also remembered an energy worker friend telling me that an orange aura can mean you’re in a creative phase, which I was then. I had spent the morning in what positive psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi calls a flow state, working on an important project. Perhaps these two beings were trying to tell me to get back to work! Or perhaps their visit was my reward for working so hard and getting my task done on time.
Whatever the reason, I remember feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the next activity — or five — on my to-do list for the day.
I hope this inspires you to find your sit spot and visit it regularly.