Hello!
To anyone who hasn’t seen some of my other posts, my name’s Sam and I’m doing a bit of work for the Trust at the moment. One of the main things I’ve been working on over the past few weeks is a subject that's close to my heart – the relationship between nature and well-being.
The natural world offers so much good and I want to pass this message on, especially because of the current state of the world right now. It goes without saying that we're all in a ridiculously difficult situation at the moment. Thankfully, this blog isn't concerned with typing out all the awful we've faced over the last year. I actually want to talk about the surprising positive that's come from the world 'shutting up shop'.
The silver lining to the global pandemic, in my view, has been the fight back we’ve seen from the natural world. Nature has had a chance to recuperate, to heal and to flourish. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much wildlife. They confidently march across roads, fly out of hedgerows, even wander straight through towns and villages. Their presence and that of nature more generally has been really comforting to me since lockdown began (again). I’ve started to train myself to use nature as an outlet in those moments when everything’s getting a bit too much. Whether I’m angry, sad, frustrated or scared – getting out into nature always seems to provide me with a moment of calm and clarity, that snaps me out of whatever mood I’m in and allows me to carry on with my day.
I know that statements like this can sound slightly fabricated and dramatic since it does seem a little unlikely that simply stepping into nature can have such an effect on your well-being but for me, it really does. So, if you’re not convinced I want you to put it to the test. If you catch yourself in a mood you want to get out of, try and connect with nature. Do this in any way you can. Whether that’s by going for a walk, digging or planting in the garden, even just sitting outside looking at the sky. It will help to focus in on your senses as you do this because it will draw your attention away from that mood and those racing thoughts that caused the problem in the first place! Hopefully, you’ll return home feeling refreshed and back in balance.
For now that's all from me but if you're interested in health and well-being and want to see more, click the link below to our new web page!
Sending my best,
Sam