Do we still need nature?

Times change, and so does our definition of relax. Up until recently, a lot of people when asked how they relax, the answer would be contact with nature. In today’s world though, when we mostly live in big cities and towns, experiencing countryside has become kind of a luxury. And for the new generation, even something exotic and unknown. This results in less of an interest to use urban green spaces or planning holidays in places concrete- and crowd-free (which has also become increasingly difficult in recent years!).

I’m not trying to criticise today’s culture and ways of living - very mindful I’m part of it, but to talk about the function contact with nature used to have for people in the past and how it would benefit all of us to find ways of implementing more of it in our lives.

Being in nature, apart from the obvious benefits of air quality and low noise levels, offers a very special (in today’s world) environment - one of low level of stimuli. This allows our nervous system to regulate and calm down, resulting in better focus and improved attention span. Sounds like something we could all use, right?

The purpose of relax is to replenish both our physical and mental resources. Relax, by definition, includes activities that shouldn’t require much effort to complete. I’d argue though that staying in and watching TV is relaxing only to a certain point, and can become just as draining to our cognitive and physical resources as intense work as it doesn’t allow the space for the nervous system regulation and replenishment of mental energy. On the other hand though, relax are activities that one enjoys, and I appreciate not everybody’s excited by the thought of driving 30 miles to get some peace and quiet and finally be able to see stars properly (thanks light pollution!).

So if your preferred ways of relaxing involve clubs, consuming media or being in otherwise man-produced environments, that is absolutely fine - as long as you create space for yourself to refocus. This can be done via mindfulness practices, meditation or other grounding self care ritual you create for yourself.

I talk about simple ways of introducing mindfulness into your life on my Instagram, make sure to give me a follow if you’re ready to make some small changes that make a big difference: @lauranagiel.