Nurturing Your Relationship With Nature

By:  Stephanie Benney

Let me paint for you a couple of mental pictures.  Scenario #1:  You step into the lush, green quiet of a secret hiding place in the woods.  The clutter of the city and symphony of the traffic are now just a sour memory.  Each step you take seduces you into a cool, dense blanket of green.  You stop, tilt your head back, taking it all in and breathe.

Scenario #2:  Walking through the sand, you feel each grain squish between your toes and you make your way to hunt out the perfect place to lay down your blanket.  The ocean waves become a pattern and rhythm for your breathing and the soundtrack in your mind.  With every wave that washes ashore, new possibility and life is breathed into you.  All of your stresses, worries and tensions wash back to the ocean to become recycled energy.

Scenario #3:  You hear the squeals of your little one running around your backyard as you are cleaning up after dinner.  You put everything aside and think, “It will be waiting for me later.”  You blast out of the screen door the way you used to when you were daughter’s age and grab her as she’s pretending to be a unicorn racing against the wind.  You vanish into a magical world of princesses and  lightening bugs as the crickets begin their serenade.

Ahhhh….did you enjoy your one minute mental journeys?  If you wish, stay in one of them for a little longer if you are feeling the flow and relaxation.  So, what do all three of these scenarios have in common? Taking advantage of Mother Earth and our beautiful environment in its most raw and natural state.

There are so many physical and mental benefits to connecting with nature and our environment.   The most obvious of benefits to getting outside and getting active within our natural surroundings is that it allows us to decompress, clear our minds and it alleviates stress and anxiety.  We have all heard the phrase, “blowing off some steam”.  Whether it be running, hiking and yoga, planting a garden or reading a book, there are many activities to partake in.

Connecting with Mother Earth gives us a better sense of being part of the big picture, or the grander scheme of things, so to speak.  Getting outside and just concentrating on your breathing, the birds, the smell of the grass and the feel of the wind on our faces helps us to calm our inner dialogue and meditate on the moment and the Universe and what She is telling us.

For centuries, women and men have let nature serve as a source of inspiration.  Many artists use nature and the elements as a muse and subject to base their work upon.  In the world of design, there is a theory called the Golden Mean, or Golden Section.  It represents the ideal standard for proportion and balance in life and art.  This theory was inspired by the perfect proportion of the inside of a seashell.  It was then analyzed mathematically and broken down into a ratio of 1:1.6180.

When we get out there and plant a tree, tend to our vegetable gardens or play with the animals, we are not only benefiting ourselves, we are benefiting the Earth.  Mother Nature smiles upon us and wraps us in Her goodness.  So, what are you waiting for?  Call upon your inner child and get out there and blow the stink off!  Anyone up for Ghost in the Graveyard tonight?

Stephanie Benney is a “Sustainable Visionary” and also the new Pittsburgh Representative for Fuzed Marketing, where she helps companies increase their brand presence. stephaniebenney@yahoo.com