This guest blog on how love for nature can make us optimistic is by Hassan Khan.

Nature is precious and we can never be thankful enough for it, no matter what.  It starts teaching us right from the moment we open our eyes. We learn a lot from nature and it makes us who we become. The beautiful green plants, tiny insects moving steadily, huge cotton-based clouds, and peaceful sunsets gives a calm feeling to everyone.  The bond we attain with nature over time makes us ever more grateful.

Nature gives us so much which we cannot even jot down in words.  It makes us see the world from a different perspective.  Here are some ways that we become more optimistic about life through nature.

Hay Meadow

Much of this article is based on “The Positive Effects of Nature” by Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury

Nature relieves stress

If an individual is stressed or depressed the best therapy one can have is to get out of that stressful situation and sit and observe nature.  A pure relationship with nature develops hope and optimistic thoughts in you.  Being in a relationship with nature and living beings helps to generate positive thoughts and feelings.  You could keep a pet or an emotional support animalwalk outdoors, watch the sunset, or sit beside a beach.   Positive thoughts and an optimistic nature is best achieved when a person is calm in their thoughts.

Companies such as Emotional support animals California allow people to keep and bond with a pet, and thus to let go off their stress and attain calmness of mind.

technology going green

Nature helps to cater for diverse problems like mood swings, anxiety, and depression, attention disorders, and much more.  It not only favours optimism and relieves stress; but it also builds curiosity in a person to learn and understand more about it.  There is a flawless law of attraction in nature that develops an urge to be closer to the plants, insects, birds, and wildlife.  Nature is the best motivator to inspire creativity or to add colours to life’s picture.

More on this can be found in “Levels of Nature and Stress Response” by Ewert and Chang.

Nature can help Make a person psychologically sound

Morning walks beside a beach, watching sunrises, and listening to birds singing around you gives you the feeling of happiness and relief.  Psychology favours the concept that nature heals a person and may even help them achieve some inner peace.  It’s very common in our society to prefer reading a book on a terrace with a beautiful surrounding view.  People love having a room connected with a balcony, or with a huge window with a wide natural view.

Some hospitals give such rooms to patients and this seems to speed up healing and recovery (see “View from a Window may influence recovery from surgery” by Ulrich RS. Science (1984)/science.6143402).  Nature automatically gives a soothing effect to our soul when the cold or warm breezes touch us. It opens many different windows in our minds, allowing us to think patiently, to give us hope, to survive again.  Why do we always love the falling rain?   Because these occasions give us a feeling of relaxation and enjoyment, even for short periods.  It develops a feeling to wanting to live for one’s self.

Little tern Sternula albifrons natural history illustration by Lizzie Harper
Little tern Sternula albifrons flying over a beach
Nature Enhances spirituality

Individuals who stay more connected with nature feel more obliged and grateful.  A study from Pennsylvania, by Dutcher and Finley, says that people who live more in nature believe that nature adds value to their personalities and well-being.  It also suggests they are more open to the feelings of wonder that happen in the form of nature.  They are more thankful for nature because of the fresh air they inhale and because of greenery and trees.  Because when an individual stays more in contact with nature, then he can observe more mindfully that what he is hearing, watching, thinking and feeling.  Such people are mostly more concerned, and happier in their relationships too.  And they feel more environmentally responsible.

Feet int the garden original watercolour illustration for sale

 Nature makes you healthy physically and mentally

The research paperHuman-Nature Relationship And Its Impact On Health: A Critical Review’  by Valentine Seymour suggests that individuals who live near nature have fewer diseases such as hypertension, cardiac diseases, chronic pain, and muscle tension.  Nature lightens the feeling of isolation; individuals can feel nature is their best friend which automatically avoids feelings of loneliness. They may find it easier to make difficult decisions which may have proved impossible in less natural conditions.

Closeness with nature and living beings improves the quality of the mind, mental and physical health, and the well-being of the individual.  It builds an optimistic nature that helps a person to be motivated through all the crests and troughs of life.

River landscape natural history illustration by Lizzie Harper

The post How Love for Nature can Make an Individual Optimistic appeared first on Lizzie Harper.