To connect with nature is to have a greater appreciation for the world around you. By opening up awareness to your surroundings, your mental, physical, and overall well-being will benefit. Here’s why — and some tips for simple ways to appreciate nature every day.
In the early days, ancient peoples got their food to eat, water to drink, materials to build, and other components to survive in their natural, untamed environment. Fast-forward a few centuries, and technology and modern conveniences have greatly reduced how we depend on our surroundings in our day-to-day lives. Work duties, social media, and other diversions and tasks often limit our connection with and appreciation for our natural environment.
But nature is an ever-present force. By simply forming a routine around its presence, you can enjoy the many therapeutic benefits that natural surroundings have to offer, including reducing our stress and anxiety, boosting our moods, and improving our health — even leading to shorter hospital stays, along with countless other emotional and physical benefits.
What Role Does Nature Play in Our Lives?
Every day, the sun, soil, water, and trees help sustain life. Nature helps sustain us.
As Virginia Blackwell, MD, of DOfEve.org, explained to DailyOM, nature “provides us with a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle. Nature can help us to relax and unwind after a stressful day. Nature not only has a physical presence in our lives, but also has a spiritual presence. The beauty of nature can help us to connect with a higher power and feel peace of mind.”
But while natural elements keep us nurtured and nourished, the buzz of daily life often drowns out their important role. That disconnection from nature isn’t just hurting us; it’s also directly impacting the planet’s health — and ours.
Heather Wilson, LCSW, certified clinical trauma professional and executive director of Epiphany Wellness, told DailyOM, “Human health is directly linked to the health of our ecosystems. The deterioration of nature also affects the average person’s quality of life [and] their access to clean water and clean air.”
Through a conscious and caring approach to nature, we can help preserve our environment and our well-being.
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What Nature Can Teach Us
We have a lot to learn from nature, Wilson says. “There is simply something about being in nature — about returning to the basic state of being human that triggers something in our minds, bodies, and maybe even our souls.” She adds that a connection with nature offers harmony and balance to our lives.
“In nature, there are no clocks, no one who keeps a schedule, yet every creature is able to keep a routine. Perhaps what nature can teach us is that you can still strive in life without racing through it … there is a time for everything.”
Deepen Your Connection With Nature Through Mindfulness
Without realizing it, humans are magnetically drawn to nature. Studies have confirmed what many have guessed: People prefer environments containing nature’s elements.
The question is, how can this connection be enhanced?
Simply paying closer attention to what’s around you can transform your relationship with your environment. Dr. Blackwell advises, “Be mindful of everything. When you are mindful, you are connecting with nature on a deeper level.”
Take time to smell the flowers, listen to the birds, or feel the leaves against your skin on your next walk outdoors. To be in the moment, you can meditate to deepen those connections, Blackwell says, or practice deep breathing. “This can calm your mind and body, allowing you to become more aware and intentional with your movements,” she explains.
How to Get Outdoors Regardless of Your Setting
For city dwellers, time in nature can seem like a faraway wish. The good news is that natural surroundings aren’t as distant as they seem. Simply strolling through a park can build a bond with your environment and help you reap the benefits of exercise in an urban green space.
“Perhaps what nature can teach us is that you can still strive in life without racing through it … there is a time for everything.”
When winter chills our plans to get outdoors, preparation is key to staying rooted in nature all year long. Wearing appropriate clothing, having the right gear, and maintaining the right mindset will keep you connected to your surroundings.
Going for a walk in the snow can help prevent the winter blues, aka seasonal affective disorder. Research shows that exploring your environment in winter can improve your mood.
5 Simple Ways to Connect With Nature
There are easy ways to connect with nature every day, no matter where you live. Here are a few suggestions from the experts.
1. Grow Houseplants
Plant parenting continues to bloom as a common practice. Houseplants allow you to connect with and care for nature, and brings the outdoors into your home.
2. Keep a Pet
Furry friends are great companions and serve as anchors to our natural environment. While we may not always understand their barking and purrs, pets mirror our relationship with nature.
3. Practice Mindfulness
Awareness is the general theme when bonding with nature. You can connect with nature at any place or time of day — whether looking out the window at the sunrise or taking a minute to glance up at a tree as you’re walking down the street. All that’s required is focus, appreciation for your environment, and leaning into the magic around you.
4. Color Spotting
Green may be nature’s favorite shade, but our surroundings are bursting with a rainbow of colors. To add some fun to any errand or outing, make a game of choosing and identifying colors along the way, like lilac, marigold, or pink. This is a lovely exercise to do with the children in your life, too. Not only is it a fun diversion, but it also will teach them to notice nature all around them.
5. Explore Your Home Turf
When was the last time you played tourist in your hometown? Is there a botanical garden that you can visit? A bench along a pier where you can sit and look at the water? An urban garden that you can volunteer to work in or an outdoor farmers market to see the bounty of fresh foods? By exploring favorite or new-to-you parks and other outdoor spaces, you’ll see that nature is all around us, in all sorts of amazing, awe-inspiring ways.
