Summer unofficially ended over the Labour Day weekend. Now many of us return indoors to get back to work, school or other projects. As we focus on this next season it is important for us not to forget about the benefits that were gained from all the Vitamin N we absorbed over the summer.
Summertime, people feel great. They get outside, and get back into nature. Leading naturalist Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle points to a surge in studies that strongly suggest a link between the outside and your insides, and that the best mind-body medicine may lie right beyond your front door. He says “we can be happier, healthier, and smarter if we weave more nature into our lives”.
A simple walk in the park, gardening, raking leaves, listening to a stream, watching clouds, feeling rain on your face, stopping long enough to smell the air … even five minutes a day can make a big difference. I remember my Mother telling us every day to get outside and “change the air in your lungs”.
The benefits of this simple activity include the fact that many people report a better ability to cope with stress and develop a more positive outlook on life, particularly for those living in urban areas. Not bad side effects for such a simple action.
And so, in spite of it being the end of summer, my challenge to you is to continue looking for ways to absorb some daily Vitamin N (as in nature) into your lives. What are you going to try and what have you got to loose?
September 2, 2013
Heartily agree about the benefits of nature. Thank-you, I now have a label “Vitamin N”. I find a challenging walk shifts my mind from everyday crap to the essentials of not tripping and getting up those hills. I call it a mind dump. Mind and body always feel great after the walk.
September 3, 2013
Wonderful how a dose of Vitamin N can increase awareness, focus and provide stress relief … and you have a lifetime supply at your location!
September 19, 2013
Hola Carol!
I have been keeping in touch with you ever since I left Canada in April throughout your blog. I am glad to see you are doing fine and I finally managed to log in here and keep in touch a bit more activelly from both our sides.. I find in your little articles great and simple wisdom nicelly put into words and I am reading them with great plesure seeing you as my “stone-pile buddy” because though we are from different parts of the world and with different age and life experiences, we obviously have the same attitude to life and Mother Nature 🙂
Following your last blog, I would just add that Vitamin M (M for music, including Vitamin D for dancing) is a very powerfull surrogate to Vitamin N whenever there is no possibility to go out throughout the day, or to make the effect of Nature even more pronounced for the joy of Life 🙂
Enjoy Carol 🙂 Maja the Slovacca
September 19, 2013
Nice to hear from you Maja and I am honoured to be one of your stonepile buddies! I love your vitamin regime and will definitely start adding them to my life – keep well. Carol