Why Time in Nature Brings Us Calm, Peace and a Profound Sense of Joy
As regular readers will know, I moved to the country 18 months ago with my lovely wife, Laura, and our little cat, Juno. We were both Londoners, born and bred, so it was a big change. I have found it a little harder to adjust than Laura, who loves it here with every fibre of her being. But one thing we are both passionate about is our garden which, by urban standards, is huge: 100ft x 40ft, with towering hedges, mature trees and shrubs and a (newly dug) wildlife pond. Check out the gorgeous water lily that just bloomed!
We have been steadily rewilding this space from a typically English, lawns-and-roses garden, to one brimming with wildflowers, swathes of long grasses humming with bees, hoverflies, butterflies and beetles. Our little pond is already full of insect larvae and stunning, iridescent-blue damselflies swoop above its surface. It’s a haven for all sorts of creatures, including humans. And in these summer months we basically live in the garden, because maintaining such a huge space takes a great deal of work – but offers huge pleasures in return.
Find Nature where you can
Of course, not everyone has the option of escaping the city – or having a big garden to enjoy. But we can all find Nature, wherever we are, whether that’s a local park, or just tending pots and window boxes on your balcony. Because we need Nature – our minds and bodies crave it. We have only been living in big, busy, car-stifled cities for 200 years, since the Industrial Revolution moved the population from country to city. And humans have lived in settlements for just 10,000 years, since the Agricultural Revolution.
In the vast span of life on Earth (around four billion years) that is the blink of an eye. Even in the far shorter timescale of homo sapiens evolution – around 300,000 years – for the vast majority of our time on this planet we didn’t live separate from Nature, we were part of it. In jungles, on grassy plains, roaming deserts, mountains and valleys, we lived among the plants, trees and animals. We drank from rivers and fished the seas.
That’s why this high-paced, highly urban lifestyle makes us sick, in mind and body. We’re not adapted for it – a bit like living on the surface of Mars, it’s a completely alien environment for our species. That’s why being in Nature feels so good. Your exquisitely complex, evolutionarily sculpted mind-body system is adapted to live outdoors, breathe fresh air, take in vast swathes of green and blue. All this grey is jarring for senses built for lush, natural hues.
Movement = joy
Another lesson from the garden: my body is only truly happy when it’s moving. And that’s tricky, because with an online-only therapy practice I spend huge chunks of my day sitting! But I get out into the garden at every opportunity, carrying heavy pots and watering cans, walking up and down, crouching, kneeling, squatting, climbing ladders – and my body is ecstatic. Because this is another lesson from the depths of time – humans, like all other animals, are built for two states. On and off.
I learn this from Juno, who is either on (running, chasing insects, stalking through the grass) or off (sleeping in one of her favourite spots around the house). Most of us now exist in some grey zone that is neither on nor off. We are over-stressed, over-caffeinated, nervous systems revving up for action while we sit and stare at screens all day. We’re bombarded by scary news from across the globe, making us angry, scared and stressed 24/7. It’s too much.
We are built to forage, climb trees, hunt, dance, fight. And then to rest, deeply and completely. So after a day of chair-and-screen time, my body craves the garden, or a walk into our magical patch of woods, just 10 minutes from the front door. Again, you don’t need to leave the city or spend a fortune on expensive gym memberships, walking is hugely beneficial for mind and body. As is cycling, or swimming in your local public pool.
And the real magic comes when you combine the two – Nature and movement – which is why doctors in the UK now turn to green social prescribing to improve their patients’ mental and physical health.
Why not try it in your next break. Get outside, go for a walk, even if it’s just round the block. Take in the street trees, the heroic little ‘weeds’ growing through cracks in the pavement, those lovingly nurtured front gardens. Move your body, mindfully absorb the sights and sounds of Nature all around you.
I guarantee it will help you feel better.
Love,
Dan ❤️
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