© Brad Mangas
One of the goals of this blog is to share information that can be beneficial to you as well as nature. To help reinforce the paradigm that nature is healthy and regenerative when it comes to our personal health. It is my belief that artwork of nature can provide visual experiences and benefits when physical presence is not available.
Have you checked your schedule to see if you have time to read this? Does that thought enter your mind every time you try to enjoy yourself? If it does you need a break, you need to make time for calm relaxation. There is a saying I tell a person very close to me on a regular basis. “If you don’t take care of yourself you won’t be able to help anyone”.
If your life is full of deadlines and commitments, many times way more than you can handle, if so you aren’t doing yourself justice and your ability to help others will suffer.
So where am I going with this? Right back to nature. Nature has been proven to provide a restorative aspect to human life and artwork of nature can provide that effect. It by no means replaces the physical presence in nature but many of us for reasons beyond our control simply can’t get out into nature. Physical problems and health conditions may prevent someone from taking that hike down the trail or simply a walk in the park. That is where the artwork of nature can become your presence or your part of enjoying such scenes.
Overwhelmed with all the digital information? You are not alone, in today’s world we are bombarded with every possible piece of information from every angle, even something that is supposed to be relaxing such as a prime time tv show can be jam-packed with issues of the world, everything from solving crimes to how to live with a complete stranger. I don’t know about you but I don’t find either one of those relaxing.
The solution, disconnect and get in touch with nature, however, you can and whenever you can. There was recently a very good article in the NY Times and author Matt Richtel followed a group of neuroscientists as they “disconnect” from the digital world by going on a rafting trip down the San Juan River in Utah.
From the article;
It was a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.
The study indicates that learning centers in the brain become taxed when asked to process information, even during the relatively passive experience of taking in an urban setting. By extension, some scientists believe heavy multitasking fatigues the brain, draining it of the ability to focus.
Mr. Strayer, the trip leader, argues that nature can refresh the brain. “Our senses change. They kind of recalibrate — you notice sounds, like these crickets chirping; you hear the river, the sounds, the smells, you become more connected to the physical environment, the earth, rather than the artificial environment.”
It has become clear to most that getting out and enjoying nature is not just a luxury “if” you find the time, it is a necessity that you must make time for if you want to live a healthy life. Forget the desire to check your email every half hour or Facebook every 10 minutes, disconnect and feel the power of nature literally cleanse your mind of distractions.
Digital Overload: Your Brain On Gadgets – You can listen to an interview with Matt on NPR radio by clicking here.
