Returning to Nature
What if I told you I knew of a new medicine that can:
improve happiness and a sense of purpose and meaning in life
reduce depression, anxiety, stress, and ADHD
improve social interactions and personal growth
improve sleep, cognitive function, memory, and attention
improve relaxation, imagination, and creativity
Would you want it? Oh, it also has no side effects and is (basically) free.
Ok, you probably guessed it. I’m talking about being in nature!
I’ve been playing in the woods my entire life. There’s a feeling that I get when I’m out in nature that’s hard to describe. It’s a mix of being incredibly comfortable and feeling perfectly at home, while being in total awe of the beauty around me….with a little dash of fear, but a fear that feels good and makes me feel alive. Perhaps the best word for this would be wonder.
It’s funny, the idea of “going out in nature.” We don’t have to “go out” in nature, we are nature. I don’t mean this in some ethereal, “we are all one” hippie sense, I mean it literally. The best and most succinct way I’ve heard this explained came from Alan Watts, “Look, here is a tree in the garden and every summer is produces apples, and we call it an apple tree because the tree "apples." That's what it does. Alright, now here is a solar system inside a galaxy, and one of the peculiarities of this solar system is that at least on the planet earth, the thing peoples! In just the same way that an apple tree apples!”
“...on the planet earth, the thing peoples!”
We are truly grown from the earth.
But we have constructed our modern world to look and feel quite differently than how it looked and felt for 99% of human existence. So no, “going out in nature” is not the best way to describe it, perhaps the better way is to say we can return to nature. We can return to the woods, beaches, jungles, and deserts and experience them the way our ancestors used to. It’s only when we ditch the concrete jungles and notification deluge of modern lives that we can feel a sense of wonder again for our true nature and the nature that surrounds us.
Before you start thinking that I’ve gone all woo-woo, I’m happy to share some science and research to back up everything that I’m saying:
“A wealth of studies has demonstrated that nature experience is associated with psychological well-being. These include evidence that links nature experience with increased positive affect; happiness and subjective well-being; positive social interactions, cohesion, and engagement; a sense of meaning and purpose in life; improved manageability of life tasks; and decreases in mental distress, such as negative affect. In addition…nature experience has been shown to positively affect various aspects of cognitive function, memory and attention, impulse inhibition, and children’s school performance, as well as imagination and creativity.”
The same review goes on to say:
“Nature experience has been associated with improved sleep and reductions in stress, as assessed by self-report and various physiological measures and biomarkers of acute and chronic stress. These impacts on sleep and stress may entail decreased risk for mental illness, as sleep problems and stress are major risk factors for mental illness, especially depression. In addition, there is growing evidence that nature experience is associated with a decreased incidence of other disorders [see (28, 55, 56) for reviews on the effects of green space on specific psychopathologies, including anxiety disorders (57), attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (58, 59), and depression (60, 61)].”
It’s hard to believe that something so simple and with this many beneficial effects is completely neglected and ignored by so many people today. But when I stop to think about it, I get it. We’re busy. We have endless things to do and notifications thrust at us 24/7.
It’s hard to walk away from all that. It’s hard to take a pause.
But it’s worth it…
“Exposure to nature can strengthen an individual’s sense of connectedness (i.e., emotional/cognitive bonds to the natural world) and enhance psychological restoration (e.g., feeling relaxed/refreshed). ”
“Individuals who are more connected to nature tend to have greater eudaimonic well-being, and in particular have higher levels of self-reported personal growth. ”
What else can you do that can deliver that many positive effects in your life?
The time is now - get out there! Even if it’s just a walk or hike for an hour on the weekend. But if you can get out for a longer hike or camping trip, do it! Let your return to nature heal you and propel you to greater success and joy in your life.
If you are interested in returning to nature with me, please reach out! I lead nature retreats to do exactly this multiple times a year.