Natural Healing

Nature! How often do you actually stop and take note of the natural world? I've suddenly realised recently how often I walk around too much in my head, or phone, to take stock of the nature around me. Yet, despite my habit of not really appreciating my surroundings, I'm benefitting from it all the same. 

I imagine most of us have experienced the power of getting 5 minutes of fresh air on our mindset. But, how often do you actually stop and really take note of the happenings around you? The birds singing, the fresh Spring blooms, that special colour of green the new leaves have. Whether its because of the sunny weather or because I've made an extra effort to take stock of what's around me, nature has had an extra mood lifting effect lately. Being British, I won't lie that the sun probably has a lot to do with it (all us Brits seem a lot happier on sunny days because of how rare they are!), but really taking stock of the intricate blooms, the bees, and butterflies suddenly appearing, has really added to making my enjoyment of the dry weather (yep it just has to stop raining and we're instantly lighter on our feet!) all the more special. 

Before you say, "oh c'mon a bit of nature and fresh air doesn't make that much difference", there has been full on studies about this. It's been found that 120 minutes / week in green spaces can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, decrease blood pressure, and alleviate mental fatigue. So there we go, that lunch time walk doesn't just help your physical health, it helps your mental health too! 

Beyond just boosting our mood, nature also serves as a masterclass in resilience: it always finds a way to recovery. Just look at Chernobyl and how nature has taken over in a place subject to a large man-made disaster. Then there's the recovery of land after widespread forest fires. Where everything is desolated, nature breaks through and comes back with a force. Buckle up, metaphor incoming! Nature recovering from disaster is a great example of how us humans can come back from illness. The progress is slow at first, small plants and insects re populating the area, but it soon builds up and grows to become a newer more diverse habitat; the same is for us, we take small steps to recovery that build up over time and next thing you know you're managing to do something you weren't able to 6 months ago. 

So I'll leave you with this thought - take note of the nature around us and the daily changes in the area around you as spring really takes hold. Sit with it for a whole and see how you feel afterwards. Hopefully it will give some sort of positivity and escape, even just for a moment.

Ta ta for now!