In Touch with Nature

Effects of nature’s beauty on well-being

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,

There is a rapture on the lonely shore,

There is society, where none intrudes,

By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:

I love not Man the less, but Nature more…”

― George Gordon Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

 

Nature has profound effects on a person’s well-being. There is a sense of awe that comes from being around it. Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer and essayist and poet, said it perfectly: “I declare this world is so beautiful that I can hardly believe it exists.”

Nature has inspired eureka moments in countless artists, scientists, and scholars. One example is the famous essayist, poet, philosopher, and historian Henry David Thoreau who lived deliberately in the woods for two years, two months, and two days. His near solitary state helped him in learning the importance of life. He recorded his experiences and was able to produce a book entitled Walden or Life in the Woods.

Studies in environmental psychology also prove that being in nature produces positive effects on the psyche. One specific research from University of California by Jia Wei Zhang and colleagues, found out that immersing oneself in nature produces important cognitive connections that are sufficient in producing a state of well-being. The researchers proposed that people who are more connected to it reported greater life satisfaction overall.

Indeed, nature unravels limitless opportunities about the wonders of life, and I cannot ignore the simplicity and reverence it brings before my senses. In fact, most of my poems and photographs are inspired by nature.

What do you think about a trip to the woods? Leave a comment in my website http://reischelsreflections.com or contact me through my social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.

 

References

Zhang, Jia Wei et. al. Engagement with Natural Beauty Moderates the Positive Relation Between Connectedness with Nature and Psychological Well-being. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.12.013.