Nature as Medicine
Nature as Medicine…this blog is tripping me up. I have writer’s block, and at first, I’m not sure why. Then…I pause to look out the large window, at the enormous tree just outside of our new home, and it dawns on me. As much as I “know” that nature is true medicine, and that we need time in it for our health and wellbeing…I haven’t been on a walk outside for days! Life has been busy with a new move, jobs, life…and on and on and on.
At the start of this pandemic, almost exactly a year ago, I was getting in my daily walks of about 20-40 minutes. I loved them. I looked forward to them. On occasion, I walked with my husband, but most often, I was solo. Able to slip deeply into the present moment. Able to shut off the busy, the noise, the chaos. Breathing in the sights, sounds, and smells all around me. It helped me to survive…and dare I say, thrive, in those first few months specifically! But as the pandemic wore on…I think it wore me down too. I began to make excuses and reasons why a walk didn’t “fit my schedule” or seemed to be too much work to bundle up in the cold Minnesota winter weather. My sanctuary began to drift away. Screens were more prevalent in my life…Netflix, iPhone, even the quick occasional YouTube video that I chose to watch…and then 25 minutes later, I had fallen down the YouTube rabbit hole and watched about 5-6 short videos!!! What?!?? How??!!? Not to mention, Instagram or Facebook!
How do I get back on track? Choosing to read, “The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative” by Florence Williams seems to be helping. My husband and I saw her speak about a year or 2 ago. She was brilliant! The book, so far, is clever, well written, and spot on! I also notice it naturally encouraged me add my walk back into my schedule later today. :)
As I researched for this blog, I noted that “Nature may improve health directly by helping people recover from stress and restore focus, as well as long-term reductions in chronic disease.” (https://www.consumerreports.org/health-wellness/healing-power-nature-outdoors/). I knew that it helped to reduce stress, but to help recover from stress and restore focus?…That’s fantastic! Just 20 minutes in nature might be enough to affect stress hormones, which after a year in a pandemic, these hormones are highly charged to say the least. Evidence is showing that even looking outside or viewing a scene of a wooded area may do us some good as well. For me, that’s a start…but there is nothing that compares to getting fresh air in my lunges, and being amongst the trees, the green, the lush, and with all the live creatures in these spaces of beauty.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I traveled north with my in laws to Grand Marais, MN. A beautiful, natural oasis chock full of healing spaces to be out in and one with nature. We went on a hike to Pincushion Mountain on the Superior Hiking Trail (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/minnesota/superior-hiking-trail-from-pincushion-mountain). At the peak of the trail, as we looked out on the amazing vista and took in the view, and this fox began to approach us! It paused only about 30 feet away, and seemed to sniff the air. With us on our journey, was my in-law’s 100 lbs Newfoundland dog named Bogart. I was surprised at the reactions of both the fox and Bogart. They paused, sniffed, and seemed to come to a level of acceptance of one another. What a novel idea, huh? Observe, be curious…then let each other be. It was a beautiful moment we all experienced in silence. The hike, the fresh air, the movement of my body…it was all so necessary and needed to replenish and fill my cup as we continue to navigate our way through COVID-19.
I encourage you, as you are able, to make a plan for yourself. A plan to visit some sanctuary for yourself. Try a new spot, or visit a familiar space that brings you ‘home’. If hiking is not an option for you, I invite you to find a space to sit, be still, and take in the sites and sounds around you. There is true healing just waiting for us in these spaces. Nature as medicine…that’s the kind of medicine I love!