As a mom, I couldn’t have been prouder when my older daughter spoke in complete annoyance, “you’re obsessed with nature.” Pretty much any chance we get, we are exploring the wild and free. What I have come to realize is that the most precious and immeasurable benefit is that your children learn to define themselves not based on what their social peers think of them, but by what wild nature creates in them.
To My Kids, Nature is Home
We’ve camped for 2 years straight, and done countless Van Life mini-adventures. We even lived off-grid in our van for 6 months. Since they were young, these Wayfind Kids have done the eat, sleep, camp, repeat game. I have genuine nature-withdrawal if I am confined within four walls for too long.
Then I find myself fantasizing with elation about jumping into the van driving off into seriously any horizon. So that’s the backstory of how my teen came to say I’m obsessed. I can confidently say that it’s a label I wear proudly. There are numerous not surprising benefits to being nature-obsessed, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Here are just a few of the many benefits.
Exploring Nature Has Well-Verified Mental Health Benefits
The prevalence of nature-based programs for children, ranging from National Park Junior Ranger initiatives to non-profit nature-therapy programs, is not without cause. Numerous scientific studies have verified the positive effects of spending time in nature on mental health. It mitigates stress and anxiety, uplifts mood, and enhances feelings of happiness and overall well-being. See Nurtured by Nature by the APA. In fact, a study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that just 20 minutes spent in nature can significantly lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Additionally, spending time in nature has been shown to improve cognitive function, creativity, and overall mental health.
For children, the benefits of being in nature are even greater. See Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature by Child Mind. Studies have found that spending time in nature can improve attention and focus, reduce symptoms of ADHD, and increase creativity and imagination. Outdoor play and exploration in natural settings can also help children develop social skills, build self-esteem, and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. See An Hour of Nature Play Keeps the Doctor Away by The National Wildlife Federation.
Step it Up a Notch: Live Off-Grid to Build Character
Step it up a notch and take the kids off-grid for days, weeks or months at a time. Then you see how real it gets. On in our blog on off-grid living, we briefly discussed our experience living on the edge of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and building our first shed and tiny cabin. Though we love with all our hearts our cabin in the forest, we realized with the harsh long winters of Mount Shasta, we needed to find a tiny cabin in more favorable year-round climate, so onto the Uinta for us.
Living off-grid is a powerful tool for improving mental health while learning self-sufficiency. Spending time in nature plus engaging in activities that require self-reliance can improve mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase feelings of happiness and well-being. Check out more reasons why at Why is Living Off-Grid Good for Your Mental Health? by Real Goods.
Living off the grid requires learning new skills and self-reliance for basic needs such as food, shelter, and water. This builds self-confidence, independence, and resilience. Additionally, living off the grid can provide a unique opportunity to disconnect from technology and the distractions of modern life, which in turn tunes us back in to what really matters, the present moment. Check out a more detailed analysis at Mental Health Benefits of Living Off the Grid by Little Dog Ranch.
The Wild Gives us a Different Spiritual Perspective
I guess any obsession is an addiction, but it seems to be about the best one I can think of, there is no dispute; life outdoors is a life well-lived. Spending time in nature provides a unique and powerful spiritual experience for people of any religious beliefs. Being in the wild can gives us a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves, whether that is God, the Universe, the Great Spirit, or simply a sense of the sacred.
We are nature, so it is not surprising that within every tradition, nature is our abundant source of inspiration and practice. Christian churches employ the three holy herbs of frankincense, myrrh, and galbanum to represent their Christ beliefs. The First Nation Peoples apply white sage to purify, heal, connect to ancestors, the natural world, and the spirit realm. Just in these symbologies, from two religious traditions, it is evident that we are of the earth and the substance of the earth represents the Divine.
Nature offers us a powerful lens through which we can view our spiritual lives and connect to something deeper and more profound. By spending time in nature, we are reminded of our place in the larger ecosystem of life. The natural world has the power to heal and restore us. It provides us with a sense of wonder and awe, and connects us with the sacred in a way that few other experiences can.
Transform Your Life and Well-Being
So yes, I am completely obsessed with nature, it’s our home. It gives you an inherent sense of freedom unfound in any man-made construct, it provides the ultimate life school of adaptability, creativity, and self-sufficiency. For our family, I have a strong sense that our daughters define themselves not based on what their social peers think of them, but by what wild nature creates in them. As long as we continue consistent doses of the very best medicine – nature – their sense of self will be unshakable.
Choosing nature as our family’s top priority, is a choice I’ll never regret. On with the obsession.
