Nature is the missing link in our culture.  We’re out of touch with it, out of contact with our source.

When was the last time you took a walk in the woods?  Not for any specific purpose, just to go take a walk.  Unfortunately for many of us, nature is hard to get to.  When we do get to it, it’s frequently overloaded with other human visitors, taking away the tranquility we might have expected to enjoy.

Let me give you an idea of how important regular contact with the natural world is.

Japanese researchers noted a significant decrease in all stress markers in their study comparing subjects in an urban environment to the same subjects in a wooded environment.

Another recent study by Australian researchers found that time spent outdoors increases physical activity levels in children, and results in a significant decrease in the chance of being overweight later in life.

Finally, for brevity’s sake, this 2005 study found that walking on cobblestones significantly improves balance and reduces blood pressure in older adults.

What do all of these studies have in common?  They’re “discovering” the “benefits” for human beings of being an animal again.

Why do I put the word “discovering” in quotes?  It seems redundant, and silly to say, but these “discoveries” are just “revealing” things that should be obvious – human beings are animals.  We come from nature.  We’re meant to be in natural settings.  We’re meant to move on a regular basis, in natural areas, and to deal with all of the challenges those settings present – uneven ground, balance, swimming, carrying, lifting, running…

Go back to nature.