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3 Reasons to Spend More Time Outdoors in Nature
Human beings today largely live in densely populated urban centres, and spend most of their lives surrounded by concrete, glass, and steel, rather than trees and fields.
This is an especially strange situation when you consider the fact that only about a century ago, the vast majority of people – even those living in Western countries – lived in rural environments, rather than urban ones.
Essentially, we lived in natural environments – or close to them – for almost our entire history, and only in the last few generations have we begun to mostly inhabit large cities and urban centres.
Today, many people feel that there is something missing from their lives due to this separation from the natural world, and so go out of their way to make time for camping trips, hiking expeditions, and even just time spent visiting parks and relaxing in botanical gardens.
Here are just a few reasons to get yourself some outdoor clothing and gear, such as that sold by Over Under Clothing, and to spend more time outdoors in nature.
To nudge your attention, mindfully, back to the present moment
Mindfulness practises of all sorts have become increasingly popular in recent times, and practises like meditation and yoga promise to help people to focus better, and to enjoy a great overall sense of well-being on a day-to-day basis.
Part of the reason for the explosion in the popularity of these practises is the simple fact that modern life often seems to be going out of its way to stop us from being mindfully present, and to pay attention to what's right in front of us.
Instead, social media algorithms and assorted entertainment platforms and advertising initiatives, among other things, contribute to keeping us constantly thinking about other things – usually about something else that we want, or that we are afraid of and want to avoid.
Regularly spending time in nature can be particularly beneficial when it comes to cultivating mindfulness and helping us to reconnect with the present moment in an open and intentional way.
The natural world contains all sorts of fascinating sights and sounds, plenty of beauty, and the ability to just take a deep breath and be immersed in the experience of your surroundings.
As long as you aren't checking social media on your phone when roaming the great outdoors, and aren’t excessively photographing everything, the natural world can powerfully nudge you towards greater mindfulness.
To bask in the beauty and harmony of the natural world
Being in a beautiful environment naturally helps to promote feelings of well-being and positivity, whereas being in an ugly, haphazard, and “clinical” environment will tend to have quite the opposite effect.
A big part of the reason why people go out of their way to visit art galleries, and to decorate their own homes, is because they realise that being in the presence of beauty can be a very positive and uplifting thing.
The natural world is full of beauty, and scenes that can cause you to catch your breath and stare in wonder.
In addition to the sheer beauty of the natural world, there's a type of harmony that you will find in the great outdoors, and in the cycle of the season among other things, that can really help you to feel more “synchronised”, more peaceful, and more grounded in day-to-day life.
Being in nature can, in other words, go a long way towards helping to improve your sense of well-being.
To step out of a purely manmade environment for a time
According to some writers and psychologists, being totally immersed in man-made environments such as cities can have various strange and disconcerting effects on our moods, and how we perceive ourselves and the world at large.
Ultimately, there are fundamental differences between the way that modern urban environments are shaped and constructed, and how the natural world is shaped and formed.
For example, urban environments are full of straight lines and sharp angles, regimented buildings, and uniformity.
By contrast, the natural world “flows.”
In nature, things blend together in an organic and thriving way, each tree is unique, and the landscapes as a whole express a very different sense of place and scale.
This is just one more way in which spending time in nature can help you to reset, and to feel more like a living being in a living world, and less like a cog in a machine.
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