Slow Down

This is so true. In our fast paced lives, we miss out on the world around us. We are too often absorbed in a digital world, either staring at a screen or headphones in, listening to music, a podcast, a book or talking on the phone. How often do we just sit and watch and embrace the world around us? It is difficult to get into “the zone”, disconnect from our busy lives, leave behind our worries, resist focusing on the future but just embrace the moment…the joy of living in the moment.

In the summer we decided to participate in “the big sleep out” that the RSPB (Royal society for the protection of birds) had organised. With my sister and her three children we pitched our tents waterside on the farm. We Laid out our blankets, lit an open fire and sat still. We engaged in that quaint old fashioned tradition of conversation. We played games, we pond dipped, took a boat out and we watched the world unfold in front of us. We saw birds, owls, bats, deer, rabbit and fish. We were honoured to be visited by one of our resident Kingfishers, taking a dip on the water to catch his dinner. We cooked sausages, beans and Jackets potato’s. We toasted marshmallows and drank hot chocolate. It’s amazing how many animals are nocturnal and the noise they make at night is quite incredible, especially the Owls. We managed to switch off from the digital world.

We live in a world of modern convenience. There is no wonder that anxiety levels have hit the roof and peoples general dissatisfaction with life is at crisis point. Unfortunately, we cannot disengage totally as we all have financial commitments we cannot run away from but there are lots of ways which are proven to reduce anxiety and to improve our mental wellbeing. They say distraction with technology is not ultimately caused by social media but it starts from within and stems from our desire to escape from our own mental discomfort. We cannot disengage totally but we can start by planning our downtime and plan it in a meaningful way. There are various things that we can do; practise gratitude and mindfulness, rest, exercise whether it be gentle movement or something more intensive, planning and eating nourishing food, meditating, spending time outside in nature whether it be walking, swimming, fishing, bird watching, foraging or just sitting. We find a lot of our guests at the farm enjoy being waterside and just taking nature in with a cup of tea or coffee in hand.

Researchers use the term “connectiveness”, which is the definition of the ideal relationship referring to the way we relate to nature and in turn our experiences of it. Having a strong connection with natures gives us a feeling of closeness or emotional attachment to our natural surroundings. This can be achieved by simple actions such as listening to birdsong, smelling flowers, touching the bark of trees or picking wild flowers. If the weather is bad or we are in situations where we cannot get outside we can still connect with nature or our favourite place in it. Writing a poem or simply daydreaming, transporting us back to our favourite place where we would like to be. This allows us to pause, reflect and daydream considering the good things in our lives. It can give us purpose and allow us to plan for the future.

Research has shown that those with higher levels of connectiveness are happier in their lives and feel more joy. Nature can generate positive emotions such as joy, hope, gratitude, pride and pleasure which can result in creativity, help with concentration and assist in general better mental health by lowering anxiety levels.

Personally, nothing beats walking across a muddy field in wellies, dogs in tow and observing. Foraging seasonally for blackberries, sloes, rose hips, mushrooms or picking wild flowers to press in a book. Stopping to take photos of anything and everything works for me. It stills me and allows me to be in the moment. Not sure if it’s a good sign but I have over 70,000 photos on my phone but it seems to work for me.

I’d love to hear what works for you.