What’s the missing piece to a slow life?

This is the fifth article in a series on how I set up a life I don't need to escape.

Where do we start to look for the solution? To find it, let’s back out of our screen-induced tunnel vision and zoom way way out to space. It’s hiding in plain sight. 

We’ve forgotten what’s encoded in our DNA – the undeniable fact that we’re hardwired to cycle with the rhythms of the natural world that makes this mesmerizing blue-green planet sparkle from space. We have a Natural OS that we’ve overridden to the point of mass burnout, illness and yes, death. 

Pfft, Nature? Is that it? I’m outta here, Marsha. 

Hold on. Gimme 3 minutes. I’m not talking about Nature the way you probably think of it. In fact, I’ll argue the way we think about Nature is totally wrong and distorted.

Getting “into” Nature isn’t only:

• Sitting around a campfire and telling spooky stories

• Camping on the hard ground and doing your business in the woods

• Mountain biking on challenging terrain

• Long hikes with your dog

• Pre-dawn walks as the sky lightens

• Backpacking into a remote wilderness area

• Birdwatching during spring migration

• Collecting leaves and learning trees

• Morning yoga by a tranquil lake

Don’t get me wrong. All these worthwhile activities can give you an entirely different experience of the land and larger community of life. 

Less doing, more being

But I’m not talking about adding an outdoor activity to your jammed “to-do” list. I’m talking about being outside with no agenda, nothing to do, nothing to achieve. Just being.

So now you’re talking about mindfulness, Marsha. Meh. 

Not really, because our busy distracted mind gets in the way, which is already clouded by so many distorted mental perceptions of Nature in western culture. I’m talking about expanding your awareness to take in more of life around you.

Our body and senses are aware of and tracking so much more information than we consciously know at any given moment. We don’t have the receptors to pick up most of it. But we also have been culturally conditioned to tune out, close the door and turn on the TV. 

News flash: You’re in the circle

I’m not a Nature person, Marsha. 

Yes, my friend, you are. It’s in your DNA. Your body cycles daily with the rhythms of the sun, moon and seasons, whether you’re aware or not. You cannot NOT be in Nature as long as there is sky above you.

We evolved along with the oak and the sparrow. It’s illogical and silly to think we exist separately from the larger non-human community of life just because there’s a door and drywall between us. 

If a slow life is about centering your life around the non-negotiables, what is the one, universal non-negotiable for every living thing on the planet? 

Nature.

Flip that around. You already belong. Nature is already at your center.

We are a part of Nature. And, Nature is a part of us. 

The health benefits are just the start

Which is why, now that science is finally looking, evidence is piling up in study after study that spending undistracted time in Nature – even 5 minutes – has quantifiable positive effects: 

• Lowered stress

• Lowered cortisol

• Improved self-esteem

• Improved concentration

• Psychological restoration

• Deeper sense of connection

• Reduced anxiety and depression

• Reduced heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension

• Positive effects on chronic conditions like cancer, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, immune health, sleep disorders and cardiovascular health

It’s no exaggeration to say that Nature can help cure most modern ills. But of course. You’ve come home.

In story after story of stressed-out people who struggled to stop the craziness you’ll always find some kind of desperate escape into Nature, where they finally found the space to relax, rest and heal. 

Fine, you say. I don’t have that option. My life is busy.

Yes, you can do this at home

OK. But, what if you didn’t need to escape to Nature out of desperation, but slowly started shifting your focus to include Nature, not as nice-to-have once-in-a-while, but as the center ground you start from and return to, day after day?

No matter where you live, no matter what your days look like, no matter how familiar you are with Nature at the moment? Tiny, incremental shifts.

But there isn’t much Nature where I live, Marsha. 

While I hate using this language, it nails the point: It’s not how much Nature you have, it’s how you use it.

Nature is fractal. There’s as much Nature in a single dandelion as there is in the Grand Canyon. 

Once you connect you don’t need much Nature to lean into the larger community of life. If you can, full-on immersive Nature experiences far from city lights are life-changing and not to be missed. But you have more access and opportunities to find awe and wonder right outside your door than you realize.

So stop reading, go out the door and have a wander.

 P.S. If you missed the first four articles and want to catch up:

1. What if you could design a life you don’t need to escape?

2. We’re looking for answers in all the wrong places

3. Six years of stumbling into a slow life

4. A personal escape plan starts with tiny epiphanies

Mists in the gorges.