Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what the worlds needs is people who have come alive, -Howard Thurman
What makes you come alive? I’d love to see in the comments.
I had to think for a while when I was asked this question. I was guided back to my school days and to remember what I loved to do for fun. Somewhere around grade 5 or 6. Those recesses for me were spent on the swings. My best friend and I joined forces on the swings. From grade 4 on she was my partner- in- shenanigans. I still keep in contact with her. The darndest things can happen on the swings.
I love even now to find a park with few enough kids that I can snag one of the swings and try going higher and higher. I always wanted to go all the way up and around. I swear I almost had it one day.
I didn’t know I needed to come back to life when I was in the midst of the suffering. In the worst of my pain, I didn’t see a way out. I felt stuck and thought I’d just have to live out my days in that state. It is hard to be there and hear people say, ‘come alive!’
There are ‘down’ days and ‘did too much yesterday’ days and ‘I just wanted to get it done and now I am paying for it’ or ‘I just wanted to pretend I was normal’ days. But when there is a day you feel up to it. Find something that makes you come alive and do it! Often.
What I am learning as a forest therapy guide has helped me come alive. The feelings of darkness and despair have been replaced with hope and healing. Today I want to share some of the science of going into the forest. How it creates those feelings of coming back to life.
Most of us notice that we feel better when we spend time in nature. But we don’t often stop to think about why. Stress seems to slip away in the forest. When we can strip that away and focus on the moment, all sorts of the health problems related to stress slacken. Headaches diminish, blood pressure eases, skin problems recede.
Cortisol is the stress hormone that can cause all sorts of problems. A study was done where the participants were split into two groups. One half went for a walk in nature, The other group went for a walk of the same duration in the lab. All participants who walked in the forest had a marked decrease in their cortisol levels. Those who walked in the lab did not experience any marked results.
You may have heard that merely looking at forest scenery for at least 20 minutes will lower your cortisol levels. Heart rate decreases. The body’s fight or flight response goes into remission.
When stress is present in our lives our immune system is affected. Stress can make it harder for the body to fight off sickness. Some say that when you feel happy your immune system is being strengthened.
Phytoncides are another one of those healing products of nature. Found most abundantly in evergreen forests phytoncides are given off by such trees as spruce and pine. But even oak trees can give off this extremely beneficial compound. The word phytoncide means, “exterminated by the plant”.
When this substance is given off by plants, it kills or slows the growth of bacteria and fungi. They have a very important role to play in the forest itself. When people breathe in these phytoncides our bodies have been shown to increase the activity of natural killer cells. These cells are important in killing tumor and virus infected cells that can cause all kinds of problems.
Another win for spending time in nature is that it can boost your creativity. A study was conducted in which participants went on a backpacking trip and then given creative problem solving tasks afterwards. They performed 50% better after time spent in the forest. Take from that whatever you want but no matter how you look at it, time in the forest is overall beneficial.
I have read that going into the forest for 3 days and 2 nights will reset you. Particularly your hormones. I would be a willing participant in that study. Where do I sign up? Put me in a forest where I can allow my body to go into a state of rest and I suspect I would become a very different creature.
Your rituals create your life. Get some good ones. -Dr Libby Weaver
Join me in creating a ritual of going down into the woods. What ritual could be better than spending time in a place that makes you feel better? Plus it produces an array of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health benefits.
I love playing on the swings because of the feeling of freedom it gives me. I can still get enough umph to spend that moment in freefall looking straight at the clouds. Find something that gives you that sense of fun and awe. If you want help with this or any other forest therapy related questions, contact me. While you’re there sign up for a forest therapy walk to find out how beneficial it really can be.
Take care out there my friends. Find a way to come alive (when you are ready.)
SUNBEAM ACRES 