Newfound appreciation for Nature during the Lockdown

When life was "normal", I never cared to look around me and examine the environment, save for a few special occasions. It all changed when I was under a nation-wide lockdown for 5 weeks by then, and in those few weeks, I started to notice nature more.

As there was almost nobody outside, the city noise had significantly reduced, and I could hear birds all day. Before then, birds could only be heard during the mornings. It made me curious enough to want to look around the trees from my balcony to see what kinds of birds were making these noises, and I have since been observing them and other creatures regularly.

Not only that, I could now also hear other sorts of nature noises like leaves rustling against the wind. Initially, it was honestly a surreal feeling to be able to hear stuff like this, at least for a city dweller like me where there is usually loud noises throughout the day.

A major part of nature that I found appreciation for is the sky. As I was working out on the terrace during the lockdown, it was then that I would be gazing at the sky. A huge, blue sky with a few white clouds looks gorgeous. Looking at clouds of different shapes and sizes is its own fun, too. A little informative piece about clouds now that I have the chance: You know how we can see things in clouds? Well, that's because of Pareidolia. It is the phenomenon through which one sees familiar patterns and images when they actually aren't there.

I had never realized before that the sky was supposed to be THAT big! You would find it funny, as it's such an obvious thing, but trust me, there IS a moment that you ACTUALLY realize the scale.

For me the eye opener came on a day when it was raining. Out of the window, I had noticed the sun coming out from behind the clouds. I had made a for the terrace knowing I would probably be able to take in the glory of the rainbow.

I had never actually done this before, but since I had grown to observe nature more, it was only natural for me to be interested in seeing a rainbow. There it was, a complete semicircle. I had seen rainbows before in my life, but I had only ever seen small arcs of them. Never the "full" ones as you see in pictures and stuff. The absolute scale of it blew my mind. I had suddenly felt so small.

Another of those days when I was working out on the terrace, I had witnessed a dark cloud approaching. Even after I had finished with the exercise, I just stood there observing the cloud and all the lightening that came with it. I had obviously seen lightening before, but it would usually be from my room window where most of the sky is hidden behind the buildings. So, seeing a huge web of lightening was an amazing experience.

I would recommend everyone, if you haven't already, to observe a little more of their surroundings from now on. You will surely learn more about things, and be surprised at how beautiful some common phenomenons are. Believe me, it will all be totally worth it.