I wish I was there today!
There are actually health benefits to spending time outside in a natural setting. The University of Rochester monitored the effects of Natural vs Artificial environment on people and found that being around nature on a regular basis makes us nicer people.
They also found that when we spend time in a natural outdoor setting regularly you will
- experience rapid healing
- Stress reduction
- Improved mental performance and vitality
- Become more social
If you want to learn more about this go to this link:
So today I didn't have time to do a "real" in depth nature day but I did enjoy the beautiful day. Most people know that I would much rather be living up north and hiking and walking through fall leaves but...the weather we are experiencing in Florida right now is pleasant...finally...so I went out this morning for a run. But this morning I was more aware of how wonderful and refreshing it was to be outside. It was cool and crisp and all the colors were vibrant. The blue sky - the greenery around the homes. The air was fresh and even a bit fall like. The rest of the day only permitted me to be in and out of buildings but every time I walked outside I took note of how wonderful it felt to be outside. Being outside truly does put you in a better place mentally.
I would love to hear if anyone did anything more exciting than I did today.
6 You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength. Psalm 65:6
Tomorrow: Self-Care Day - Do something for you!
5 comments:
I was with my cutie grandson Eric today, and we went outide for a while, and it seems that even little babies are awed by the peace and beauty of nature. He was in the baby carriage, and looked and looked and , and , being in a park, there was lots of open grass and trees, and beautiful blue and white sky. We felt the leaves, including the neat dried sycomore leaves laying all over the ground, and got up close with the red hybiscus flowers, and even felt them, too. He got a big hand full of Cassia leaves, which had to be gently removed. :) What a wonderful, artistic God , to surround us with such peace and beauty!!
We were in the garden again today; decided to change a stone border into more of a paver look with border grass accents. I started the day lamenting over having to redo what was already done, hours spent when I could have made greater progress toward final completion. There’s still so much to do before Thanksgiving. I tried to keep my thoughts from straying into regret and instead concentrated on how much better the final outcome would be, throwing myself into tear-down mode. Every time I thought about how upset I was, I stopped myself and said ‘look toward the final goal and not what was past.’ I thought if I could just quickly remove all evidence of the previous design (WORK EFFORT), it would look like a fresh canvas and I would quickly be excited about the prospect of the new. And that is exactly what happened.
I learned that laying pavers is more about digging the base out, not the difficulty of the base layers or placement of the stones. We have been delaying a true paver project because I thought it would be just monumental. And now because of a misjudgment in planning and a forced redesign, I have discovered that we can indeed move on to the other challenge as well (when time permits and budget too).
What have I learned today – I thought it would be about God’s creation in nature and I saw more of what God created in His people.
• There will be mistakes but they don’t have to be made into tragedies.
• A redirection can be a good thing if you let it be guided by His hand.
• Second time around can be better than the first.
• Do not allow your thought life to keep you in past regrets; you might miss God’s best if you do.
• Don’t settle for it being wrong or just adequate. You can choose to change it for something better.
Bottom line – are you willing to put in the effort and the time.
Eccl 3:1-2, 5
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; KJV
Bettsy,
What a great nature day you had! Nothing like seeing life through a childs eyes. I love the description of all the things in nature. What is a Cassia leaf?
Juliette,
I love your 5 point of things learned today. What great Life coaching concepts! Especially the redirection one - probably because my life has been so redirected and yet I believe it has been by His hand and it is good.
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