Time to Be in Nature - Alone
The world is asking us to slow down and nature calling us to reconnect. While being faced with many challenges: the Coronavirus, the mental health crisis and climate change; spending time outdoors, alone, presents itself as a wonderful opportunity for us all to reset, reassess our priorities and reconnect.
In recent years stress, anxiety and depression have been growing - symptoms of the increasing disconnection we are experiencing with ourselves. Furthermore, the climate and extinction crises, pollution and rampant consumption are manifestations of our disconnected and unhealthy relationship with the natural world; disconnection with ourselves and disconnection with nature are one and the same thing.
At the core of this disconnection is habitual distraction and avoidance of our own discomfort, a desire for instant gratification, and a lack of presence and kindness in our relationships with ourselves, each other and nature.
More recently, the Coronavirus has brought fear, uncertainty and challenge to our lives. We are faced with our mortality and we are shown our limitations and lack of resilience as individuals and as a worldwide system.
However, the virus is also showing us how connected we all are. It is unifying us through a common challenge and giving us an opportunity to look inwards and reflect on our relationships, on what is important to us and what responsibilities we have. Parents are now spending more time with their kids, people are collaborating with and caring for their neighbours. In our more simplified lives we are taking less for granted and our hearts are opening to the world.
It would be a mistake for us to look at the Coronavirus as an isolated ‘problem’ in the human journey, to be ‘solved’ in isolation, before getting on with business as usual – economic growth through mindless consumption. This is an opportunity for us to find our humility, our wisdom and our humanity and to see the world as an interconnected living system of which we are all a part. The natural world is what unites us all and is what we must turn to as individuals and collectively as a human system.
For those of us who are struggling right now there is much we can learn from nature’s resilience, adaptability, harmony and balance. When we listen to and care for something, which is bigger than us, but which we are also a part of, we are left with a profound sense of satisfaction.
Make the most of this time of social distancing and if the Government guidelines allow, leave behind your phone and go into a park or the countryside – alone.
You might want to try lying down on the earth or leaning against a tree and bringing your breath to your attention. Notice how your body feels and allow any tension you might find in your body to release on the outbreath. After a few minutes you might find some stillness in your body and mind.
Then spend time with a being in nature, a bird, a bee, a river and allow all your senses to come alive with it. Put your hand on an Oak tree and feel the rough bark against your skin. Realise that just because you can label it as an Oak tree it doesn’t mean that you know it. With everything and everyone we tend to label; it keeps us up in our heads and we can become analytical and judgmental. That’s not where real change happens; real change happens when we accept we don’t know and we become curious. The trick is to experience everything through all your senses as if for the first time.
Go with no specific agenda other than to thank, appreciate and love the land that gave rise to our existence. It might feel awkward at first, but be patient; like any relationship it takes time.
Nature is our mother. She inspires us, heals us and sustains us if we respect her, but she can also destroy us. We used to have an intimate and respectful relationship with her, but we have lost it. Perhaps the unprecedented situation we all now face with the Coronavirus provides us with a natural pause to ask ourselves what relationship we want to have with this planet and with each other.
Here is some information on what the science is showing us regarding the benefits of nature on our well being:
The University of Chiba in Japan showed that being in nature reduces pulse rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels. On subjective tests, study participants also report better moods and lower anxiety.
Rachel and Stephen Kaplan from the University of Michigan report from their research that being in nature leads to improved cognitive functioning and mental well-being. (ref https://www.leadershipimmersions.com/the-science )
Qing Li, an immunologist at the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, found that spending time in nature boosts our natural killer immune cells as well as anti-cancer proteins.
A joint study by the Universities of Kansas and Utah have shown that after 3 days of hiking in nature participants improved their scores on creativity by 50%.
Marc Berman and others from Toronto did a study, which showed people exhibiting significant increases in memory span after a nature walk.
A study by Colin Capaldi at the Public Health Agency in Canada, suggests that people connected to nature tend to experience more positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction when compared to people less connected to nature.
By Hamish Mackay-Lewis & Anamaria Acevedo-Villamizar