Research shows that having a connection to nature is beneficial to mental health, and those who spend time outdoors are likely also enjoying physical benefits. But, those who either live in cities, don’t like the usual ways people experience nature, or simply have no ability to go outside might wonder how to add it to their lives.
This is a post to introduce methods of perception. It’ll increase the odds that you’ll find a way to interact with the natural world.
There are many ways to introduce nature to your life, ranging from effortless and free, to guided treks, journeys, safari’s & other experiences. Maybe you can go to the wilderness on an eco-safari to fully immerse in a new and completely different world than your own; that’s probably a wonderful experience. If free is more along your style, there exists a way! Even if you can’t get away from the concrete jungle, you can find ways to add natural experiences to your life.
Nature is Almost Everywhere
If the sky is above you, whether you’re inside a structure or out in the environment, there is something from the natural world living or existing all around you. Even if mankind and man-made things are not considered natural (see the previous post).
The key is learning to sense it. And since we have more than one way to sense things, there are multiple ways to experience it. From sub-microscopic to megascopic, there are elements of the natural world everywhere you go.
And for those who must stay in a sterile space, which is the one place I can think of where nature might not exist externally, it surely exists internally. We can’t live without the abundance of natural, living things (bacteria, cells, atoms, etc.) that keep our body functioning. And while perhaps mankind itself didn’t make the definition, our bodies are certainly natural (except for perhaps the unnatural, man-made things we may have added to it for health or cosmetic reasons).
Plus, I’ve added a sixth sense: Imagination. Imaginary things exert real-life impacts on our physiology.
So why not use your imagination to bring about the positive effects of exposure and experience to nature?
Use Your Senses to Add Nature to Your Life
- See
- Listen
- Feel
- Taste
- Smell
- Imagine
I’m writing a series of blog posts that will focus on ideas for ways to experience nature with each of the senses. Some experiences are multi-sensory and immersive. But to take one sense at a time will help to broaden your perspective on all of the things that constitute nature and ways to experience it.
All of the things you can experience with your sense of sight. Those without sight will need to lean on the other senses and a big dose of imagination.
See, Listen, Feel
Here’s a post I wrote on the Rule of 3 and Experiencing Nature, which incorporates these senses.
Taste & Smell
When I write a post that includes these senses, I’ll link to it here.
Imagine
For all of the things that you can’t experience with your other senses, use your imagination. The cosmos is huge, and every square inch of it is filled with the world of nature. Once this post is live, I’ll link to it here, too.
More in This Series about What Constitutes Nature
I’ll add to this list as the articles are written and posted:
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Author/Artist Info
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I make Paleo Paints from the lightfast pigments foraged from Madison county, Arkansas, creating under the pseudonym Madison Woods. Most of the colors I use comes from rocks gathered from our own creeks here at Wild Ozark. I outsource titanium for white, lapis for blue, and grow garden thyme for yellow.
My inspiration is nature – the beauty, and the inherent cycle of life and death, destruction and regeneration. My work is a partnership with the land. Immersing in her color, absorbing inspiration, taking communion. A painting begins with a foray to collect rocks, soot and bone. Each pigment, alone a portrayal of beauty, combined in a painting, becomes a whole reflection of the very soul of the Ozarks.
My Portfolio is HERE
Click here to join my mailing list.
I’m also a REALTOR® with Montgomery Whiteley Realty, under my real name Roxann Riedel. If you’re thinking of moving to the Ozarks of Arkansas and would like me to be your Buyer’s Representative, email, text, or call me at (479) 409-3429! And if you’re moving away from or selling property in Madison, Newton, or Carroll county, I’m happy to be your Listing Agent.
Random Nature Connections
Here’s a series of older posts I’ve made called Random Nature Connection. These are philosophical connections to how I experience nature out here at Wild Ozark.