A few years ago, a colleague (and friend) told me a story that's stuck with me.
She had suffered an ankle injury a few months before and couldn't take her dogs out for their morning walk. When the ankle finally healed, she leashed up her pups and led them to the woods behind her neighborhood for their usual romp. But something surprising happened.
When she went into the woods for the first time in months, she started crying. Being surrounded by nature again after so many weeks away overwhelmed her emotionally, she said. She missed it more than she realized, and she needed it more than she knew.
I remembered this story because it resonated with me.
Nature is something I crave. Being outdoors and active -- hiking, swimming, canoeing -- I need that in my life to feel like, well, me.
I grew up in the mountains of Western Maryland on a giant (to me ;) hilly piece of property that I spent hours and hours exploring every day. I went to college on the banks of the St. Mary's River, as far away from the mountains as I could get, but in an equally beautiful setting.
If I had to name my favorite things to do in all the world it would be to read, to write and to swim in the ocean, preferably all on the same day. I crave the beautiful and the wild, the quiet woods and the roaring seas. I need it. And I'm not alone in that.
What do we know about how nature affects humans? A lot actually.
People who spend time in the woods have been shown to have "increased happiness and pleasure, improved sleep and energy and a calmer, more relaxed state of mind." (I'm pulling this info from a book I read recently, "How to Live a Good Life," by Jonathan Fields, but you can search Google and find plenty on the topic.)
Physiologically, they have reduced blood flow in the areas of the brain that signal stress and anxiety; better heart-rate variability and stronger immune systems. They're healthier and happier -- just from being outdoors.
Though scientific research on the topic is somewhat new, the idea of benefiting from nature is far from it.
Poets (my people ;) have pondered for ages about the power of the natural world:
"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”
― Lord Byron
As have philosophers, artists:
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.
― John Muir
And it's universally known. The Japanese talk about "shinrin-yoku" or forest bathing, an idea that encourages people to take a leisurely walk in the woods for health's sake. The Germans have a word, Waldeinsamkeit, that's meant to evoke the feeling you get when you're alone in the woods, connecting to nature.
Still, though we often recognize the power of nature, it's all too easy to forget about this all-too-important aspect of a balanced life.
Living in Northern Virginia, I did what I could to find nature in our midst. It wasn't easy. I found a path near my high-rise office tower that -- for two minutes -- would lead me through a quiet patch of woods. I walked it nearly every day. A public park near our favorite burger joint had a wooded area with a creekbed running through it. The kids and I would spend time exploring the creek and throwing rocks in the water, just yards away from a giant apartment complex.
Nature was sparse in our lives -- and boy, did I miss it. I also worried about raising kids who didn't know the splendor of running wild outdoors. I felt almost a moral responsibility to drag them on the weekends to a riverfront park or a cabin in the middle of nowhere just so they could experience it.
Now, praise be, we get more than our fair dose of the natural world. We're not just bathing in it; we're swimming freestyle.
Auckland is an incredible city for many reasons, but the top one in my book is the amount of natural beauty both surrounding the city and hiding within it. Every day now I see and explore this beautiful landscape -- and boy does it feel good.
Today I dropped the kids off at school and took Moses with me on a mini adventure. We drove to a place called Mission Bay (amazing; I hope to take the kids over the weekend and do some video) and then found a dog-friendly path in a place called the Kepa Bush Reserve.
To be clear this is, like, a throwaway reserve for the city, a piece of land that probably couldn't be developed and so was turned into a little public park. I doubt more than 20 people a month spend any time here, and most Aucklanders have probably never heard of it. It's just a little space in the woods that happens to be...well, magical. And there's so many of those little spaces hiding all over Auckland.
As Moses and I walked through the forest, up and down hills, we listened to the birds, rubbed our hands (or itchy backs ;) over the tree bark, felt the path change under our feet from dirt to gravel, wooden planks to mud. It was so peaceful. And I realized, again, how lucky we are to have access to such beautiful places.
With just a little effort -- and in a very short amount of time -- we can walk on the beach, hike through the bush, see for miles from the summit of a volcano or marvel at a waterfall. We are so lucky, and I am so grateful for the natural beauty Auckland provides us.
Poor Thoreau had to camp out in the woods like a hermit to "live deliberately...live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." I get to live in a vibrant, amazing city and do the same ;)
