If the universe does not care about me, why do I feel cared for when I am outdoors?

I left my church three years ago and I do not believe anyone is listening any more. And yet every time I walk along the river near my flat I get this feeling of being held. Not watched, held. I know the universe is not a person. So what is that? A leftover from religion I should grow out of, a trick of a nervous system that evolved outdoors, or something a pantheist can actually take seriously?