Daily dose of nature
Any nature-haters here?
I don't think I know anyone who dislikes nature (and I'm afraid I've no prizes available to offer the 1st person who puts their hand up!). Ok, so not all my acquaintances are gardening enthusiasts, hardcore hillwalkers or eco-activists. Yet I don't think I've met anyone who wouldn't find a vivid sunset beautiful, or who wouldn't find some level of wonder in a view of the Himalayas (or the Lake District!).
Which makes nature a kind of universal common ground for us all. How wonderful is that- that, amongst all our differences and disagreements, there's something that most human beings all like? A shared current of joy and inspiration. Something that connects us all.
In fact, there's a fair bit of evidence that time spent with nature is a good health investment. Theodore Roszak, who passed away last month, introduced the term ecopsychology and wrote a fair bit about the healing potential to ourselves and to the planet if we adopt a closer relationship with nature (1) The term ecotherapy has been used to describe therapeutic use of animals, conservation work, gardening or other time spent outdoors with people experiencing issues such as behavioural difficulties or mental health problems (2). Better still, such activities have the physical benefits brought by exercise, a social aspect that can reduce isolation and improve interpersonal skills, and opportunity for self-development. Mental Health charity MIND have known this for a while and fortunately secured funding for its Ecominds projects, bringing the above benefits (and more) to thousands of people across England (3).
Looking out of the open door next to me into my garden, I reflect on what it's given my husband and I since we moved in 18 months ago (aside from pretty flowers and yummy veg!). Before this, we hadn't had a garden space that we could really put to use (well, my parents had let me have an old Belfast sink in their garden to experiment my horticultural abilities in. My teenage plant-it-and-then-forget-about-it technique seemed to suit the fennel and thyme!). I've still not perfected protecting the veg from the slugs, who I'm reluctant to kill with beer or pellets, but who make my heart sink when I come out in the morning to find munched the seedling I've just planted after weeks of nurture on the windowsill. It's a lesson in patience, problem-solving, loss and assessing values.
More positively, there's warm satisfaction in watching new shoots come up and grow into actual recognisable vegetables, of feeling responsible for something living. We're far from self-sufficient for our fruit and veg needs, and we've a lot of learning to do, but we let ourselves enjoy a bit of pride in our produce. It's also lovely to share our space with visitors- particularly those who don't have gardens (and those who have expertise that they don't mind imparting!)
We can also watch the cycles of nature; each day, something changes in our garden, reminding us of the tides of growth, bloom, wilting and death. In just a quick scan around, we connect with the season and with the parallels to our own lives. In the last few months, since becoming pregnant, I've felt quite synchronised with our neighbour's lovely apple tree (which kindly stretches into our garden). The buds were just forming and the green just coming in not long after we found out that we were expecting. Then tiny apples began to form as I started to show, becoming more recognisable as I looked more definitely pregnant. Now, they're fully formed apples but still with a fair bit of growing to do to become ripe- and they will be at around the time our baby is due.
Omnipresent nature.
Even without a garden, nature's still never far away. Bristol has some beautiful parks that I crunched leaves or threw snowballs in back in my pre-garden-owning days. Even without time for tending an allotment or for joining a conservation group, maybe a walk around the streets near your home can wave some honeysuckle or jasmine under your nose at this time of the year, or show you some ripening blackberries that you can revisit soon (with a tub!). Or give you plenty of other people's gardens to nose at! (Something that, as the owner of a fairly small, amateur, uncolourful garden, I really enjoy). We can all tune into something- the birdsong, the creatures crossing our path, the feel of the air. As Buddhists (and several non-Buddhists!) know through their practice of mindfulness, focusing on what's immediately around us, becoming absorbed in what's going on right here in this moment, takes us away from the constant internal chatter of our minds and helps bring inner peace. Find a local tree to watch its journey through the seasons- I've found that connecting to these rhythms reduces that “where the hell's the year gone?” feeling for me, particularly when I ask myself how that phase is mirrored in my own life. Which of your windows is best for growing herbs in or watching sunset from? As I said, I've never met anyone who dislikes a colourful sunset.
Mo ♥
Heart shaped leaves! :)My religion is nature. That’s what arouses those feelings of wonder and mysticism and gratitude in me. —Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks
References
- In particular, Roszak's book Voice of the Earth (1992, Simon & Schuster). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/8650652/Theodore-Roszak.html
- British Medical Journal Volume 331 (November 25th, 2005) Getting Close To Nature is Good For You Retrieved from Science Daily on July 27 , 2011
Also see http://www.ecopsychology.org/
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