Nature and Its Kindness: A Timeless Bond That Sustains Our Life
Nature and Its Kindness: Subtle ways of Healing
Nature and its kindness manifest in many subtle ways. It sustains our life, offering us shade on a hot day, with the soothing rustle of leaves in the wind, and the quiet companionship of birdsong at dawn. It heals, nurtures, and restores our balance without asking for anything in return. Whether it's a gentle wildflower bloom or a calm hush of a forest path, its kindness is ever-present, and inviting us to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with the world around us.
Human Nature Connection: Interdependency
Humans and nature are reciprocally dependent and influenced by each other in a complex relationship. The human nature connection has always been deep. They have appreciated, interacted, and survived through the nature process for centuries. Since dawn of humanity, we have been inextricably linked to nature, which reveal nature and its kindness.
Our Earliest Ancestors Reliance on Nature:
Our earliest ancestors relied on the natural world for survival. They hunted, gathered food, and used natural resources to create tools and shelter. With the development and advancement of human societies over time, our relationship with nature changed, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. The agricultural revolution marked a turning point in human history. The people began to domesticate plants and animals and settled in one place. This led to the development of cities and civilizations, separating us from the natural world.
Happiness in Nature's Bounty:
Nature is not only a part of our life, but also a part of our identity. We need nature for our multifarious needs, including food, water, fuel, medicines, and building materials. We are innately drawn to its bounty and appreciate its diversity. The natural world is a testament to beauty, complexity, and the resilience of life on earth. Its beauty is an ever-present reminder of the planet's grandeur and diversity and shows that nature is kind.
In fact, every aspect of the natural world offers a unique and captivating experience. It offers a sense of wonder and awe, helps individuals feel more connected to the universe. Whether it's a walk in the park, hiking in the mountains, or simply sitting by a river, nature is kind and has a way of soothing the soul. The wealth of benefits it gives us is invaluable.
Our Physical and Mental Wellbeing: Nature and Its Kindness
You may have different experiences of nature, your reasons for wanting to connect with it may also vary, or you may want to get something from one activity compared to someone else, but the voice of nature and its kindness come from your spirit and this is what makes nature’s communication a valuable asset. As such spending time in nature and bringing it into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing.
The health benefits, associated with our interacting with nature, are both profound and multifaceted, reflecting psychological, cultural, or biological connections. Studies have found evidence of positive benefits of human interaction with nature, i.e. the practice of forest bathing can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and boost immune function. That's a proof of nature and its kindness.
Our inherent affinity with green spaces or natural settings has restorative effects and promotes emotional wellbeing, cognitive function and focus. It results in improved productivity, lower stress levels, enhanced learning and even improved recovery rates following an illness. It has a profound impact on spiritual wellness. More importantly, the natural world provides us with medicinal plants that have been used for centuries to treat various ailments.
In fact, our physical and mental wellbeing depends on how much time we spend outdoors to know how nature is kind. Many of us instinctively know that being in nature is good for us, and research has backed this up, revealing that people who are more connected with nature report greater life satisfaction, lower stress levels, anxiety and depression, and greater emotional and mental wellbeing. Hence, our connection with nature isn't just physical, for many it is emotional and spiritual. From growing food or flowers to exercising outdoors or being around animals can have lots of positive effects, manifesting that nature is kind.
Nature and Our mental health:
Regarding
mental health benefits, it may have a very wide definition. It can mean both green
or blue spaces, even watching nature documentaries may have a good effect on your
mental health. Spending time in mother nature can significantly boost health
and well-being. It can help improve our thinking, reasoning, or other mental abilities, showing nature is kind.
Studies
have found that our minds and bodies relax in a natural setting. This increases
feelings of pleasure and can help us concentrate and focus more
effectively, according to studies in the National Library of Medicine.
Nature provides a mental break, allowing us to temporarily escape the demands
of everyday life. It can also boost your
creativity and problem-solving abilities. The time in nature has
also been found to help with mental health problems like anxiety and
depression. Research in ecotherapy has shown that activities outside in nature can
help with mild to moderate depression.
Nature and Our Physical Wellness:
Once out into nature can lead you to want a walk, bike, hike, or kayak. People typically engage in regular physical activity when they're out in nature. This, nature and its kindness, can help you keep a healthy weight or even lose weight by increasing activity levels. This also provides evidence that nature is Kind.Studies show
that being in nature has a positive effect on our bodies, reduces cortisol levels,
muscle tension, and demands on our cardiovascular
systems (lowers heart rate and blood pressure). The great
outdoors may reportedly increase our vitamin D level,
which is important for our bones, blood cells, and immune system. These benefits can be categorized as under:
1. Better breathing:
Air pollution can trigger allergies like asthma or other respiratory diseases. The indoor concentrations of air pollutants are often higher than outdoor concentrations. Spending more time in natural green spaces can help lower the risk of respiratory concerns.2. Improved sleep:
The internal clock of our body follows the sun. It makes us feel awake during the daytime and sleepy at night. Accordingly, the sunlight has been shown to affect our circadian rhythm more than electric light. Hence, exposing to sunlight can improve our sleep by helping us feel more tired at night. It shortens the time it takes in falling asleep, and improve the quality of our rest.3. Reduced depression symptoms:
Reportedly, sunlight can help in easing depression symptoms like low mood and fatigue. Light therapy may help in treating both major the major depression and seasonal depression. However, experts are still not completely sure on how the sunlight affects depression.4. More motivation to exercise:
Working out in green spaces help boost our motivation to exercise in future. For this, we don’t have to bike a triathlon or ski down a mountain to enjoy exercise in nature - any activity that gets your body moving in a way that’s doable for you.5. Mental restoration:
Modern world is full of illusions. It contains plenty of intrusive stimuli, like flashing screens, vibrating phones, rumbling roadways, which compete for our limited attention. The overstimulation may raise our stress levels without even our realizing it.Nature and its kindness on the other
hand, offer a mental and emotional refuge when we need to unwind and
recharge. There are soothing attractions for our senses in nature, from the
perfume of flowers to the music of bird song, can hold our attention without
draining our mental energy.
Research from 2020 suggests that spending time in
nature can help us feel more relaxed and focused, especially when we take the
time to notice our surroundings. To get these benefits, you might consider
doing slow-paced, contemplative activities like hiking in the woods or kayaking
on a lake.
6. Boosted immune function:
Experts suggests that we are less likely to contract the virus, like COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), not to mention other viruses, when outside. That’s reportedly due to the air circulation, which can dilute the presence of viruses in the air. According to 2021 research, the chances of transmission are 18.7 times higher indoors than outdoors. Even ignoring the pandemic, outdoors time help your immune system function optimally. Microorganisms found in nature that aren’t dangerous can reportedly run practice drills with our immune system, in a manner of speaking, to help prepare it for more serious infections.7. Protection from short-sightedness:
Evidence suggest that children who spend plenty of time outside have a lower chance of developing myopia, or nearsightedness. Increasing the eye-work distance when doing close-up work and taking a break after 30 minutes of close-up work have some protection. Hence, regular outdoor activities in childhood, like playing catch, swimming, or going sledding may just save your kid a trip to the optometrist down the line. Nature and its kindness also offers great opportunities for family bonding.8. Improved emotional well-being:
The time spent outdoor can do more to help relieve unwanted or painful emotions like fear, worry, and sadness. Nature and its kindness may also help in promoting the emotions we want to feel more of, like happiness, peace, and optimism.
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