You will look at these 5 points differently after a longer stay in nature
Each of us certainly has new ideas and perspectives anchored deep within us that are in a kind of dormant state and that we only need to illuminate and bring to life in order to be able to use them. These hard-to-reach areas could be groundbreaking for our own development and steer our lives in new directions. It could also be a " wake-up effect ", for example, that finally opens our eyes in certain situations in life.
It is also possible that this hidden helper trapped within us could manage to direct our own problems and self-doubts into orderly channels, so that we can finally concentrate on the important areas of life . Perhaps it is thanks to this inactive power that we approach other people more and put our own pride aside for the moment in order to achieve this goal. We could certainly list these events and scenarios for hours. Almost everyone would certainly have a situation that they would like to actively tackle and change.
The fast pace and hectic pace of our times often make it impossible to devote ourselves to these hidden areas with the necessary seriousness. Our lives are far too dominated by work influences, noises and obligations, which only give us a small window of time in which we can make progress in this regard. It sometimes feels as if we have been put in chains that limit our freedom of movement and ability to act so much that surrendering and accepting the basic situation is often the simpler and more time-saving approach. This frightening development can be observed more and more often.
consciously changing things
But this sad trend also means that a counter-reaction is being set in motion and many people no longer want to accept these conditions. The goal of this group of people is to consciously slow down so that they can devote time to more important things.
However, during this endeavor, many people realize, sometimes with shock, that even slowing down alone is often not enough to achieve the desired goal. Too many influences and circumstances still affect you. Something continues to prevent you from achieving the desired result. Although there is a slight improvement, you are still miles away from your dream result. What is missing?
Back to Nature
The answer is increasingly " back to nature ". The word " back " in particular should be examined in more detail here, because it seems as if humans have never been further removed from nature than is currently the case. There are cities and regions where a jungle feeling can be felt, but this jungle is more of an urban jungle and its distinguishing features are not the numerous exotic plants and lush green mountain ranges, but rather asphalted apartment blocks and " grey-on-grey " idyll.
Added to this are the seemingly constant light and noise influences that initially seem entertaining, but subconsciously create something chaotic and unsatisfying for most people. Entertainment systems and smart homes that give the impression that life is getting easier and easier. You come home and all you have to do is lie down in the nest. Brain off - happy! " TV - ON !" echoes through the living room more and more often in a monotony never experienced before. Turn on the TV with a voice command and catapult yourself further and further into shutdown. Oh, home sweet home!
Without a doubt, modern life has also brought about many good things that have enabled an incredibly positive standard of living, even from a safety or health perspective. But does it really have to be the relentless technology overload? Will I soon be sinking into a garbage dump without the highly intelligent and self-navigating vacuum robot?
way out within reach
More and more people want to enjoy a more regular connection with nature and often only experience this when they move out of their comfort zone and into the forests and mountains. Whether it's a hiking holiday, a fishing trip to Norway or a camping trip to the seaside - the possibilities for slowing down the clock are manifold. Here you can finally find the right framework to make your venture a reality. Far away from all the hustle and bustle and the obligations that normally arise, you can finally breathe deeply and try new paths. Even people who do not normally spend long periods of time in nature can imagine what longer stays can do to us. Even short walks through the park or the forest next door often have something liberating about them and when you get home you feel like some of the baggage has been thrown off you. If these results can be seen after short trips into the countryside, what does it look like when you expose yourself to these influences for longer periods of time?
In the following section, WOLFGANGS has summarized 5 things that you will look at differently after a longer stay in nature.
perspective on time
Without wanting to generalize, it is still fairly likely that the daily routine of each of us is more or less the same. At least the basic structure is very similar for most of us and has the same content or sequence. After the alarm clock has kindly ripped us out of our dreams with the ringtone of our choice, we stagger, half disorientated, towards the bathroom to quickly get ready.
The word " quick " has an important meaning here, because everyone immediately starts an internal battle against the clock. Once we get to the bathroom, we only have a small window of time to do everything we need to and head to the kitchen. But even there, the alarm clock tells us in a way that sets the tone that the clock is not going to slow down any time soon, so we have to manage the time available accordingly in order to leave the house on time.
A quick breakfast, dressed, last sip of coffee, door closed - the means of transport of our choice welcomes us happily while we are still busy keeping our eyes somewhat open. On to the next time-based gladiator fight! You are already mentally busy hoping that the train is not delayed or you are crossing your fingers that this nasty stretch of motorway, which is currently being rebuilt, is not blocked again. After all, this important meeting starts at 8 a.m.!
A short excerpt from a morning time management conflict might look something like this. Time determines everything in our lives and we have completely forgotten how to appreciate this time and see it as something beautiful. In most cases, time is something annoying that we have to fight against in order to be able to do other, mostly unimportant things. The classification of time has taken on a completely new significance and appears as a distorted result of our new-fangled and highly technological development.
" I hope the day goes quickly today " or " Oh man, I wish it was possible to fast forward to the end of the day at 5 p.m. " everyone has probably heard from colleagues at work or even thrown out in a frustrated voice themselves. Of course, no one can absolve themselves of this. However, we have to examine what wish is actually being demanded here! People really do wish for their own life to be shortened. They would consciously accept that their precious life time would be shortened in order to finish work sooner. For many people, this underlines in dramatic clarity that the word time has been given a new definition.
There is something liberating about spending a longer time in nature and it gives you the opportunity to block out, forget or even better classify all of this. During a longer stay in nature, there are usually no appointments or obligations lurking around, but it is much more about looking at the time as an experience in itself. It usually doesn't matter how long you sleep, when you get up, when you take your lunch break and cook, and when you go to bed. You have the feeling that you are looking at everything as a whole and accepting it. All of this is part of the day and can have something positive about it. Negative things are no longer cursed so often, but rather they are part of it and enrich your life in a different way that is just as valuable.
When hiking, for example, you perceive a stage as a complete experience and appreciate all the details of that day. You enjoy the idyllic trees, lakes, bushes and bird sounds just as much as the sweaty and demanding mountain passages that send greetings to your calf muscles. Even if the latter part is clearly the more strenuous one and will certainly demand a maximum of energy and strength, it is still something special and, looking back, makes this day really worth living and special.
Your perspective on time and its beauty will certainly change after a longer stay in nature. Once you are back in " normal " life, you will find that even negative and stressful situations in your everyday work and private life can be enriching. You often change your way of thinking, so that you question things more often and can also find something good in this period of time. The quiet, relaxing and pristine environment in nature helps you to understand everything better and to steer it in a new direction.
perspective on interpersonal relationships
One of the most important things in our everyday lives is certainly communication. It doesn't matter whether we talk to each other, use sign language or communicate with each other using more technical approaches. Ultimately, it's about transmitting messages and, above all, receiving them and then interpreting and processing them. It all sounds very simple, you might think at first, but unfortunately there is a huge deficit in this area these days.
The exchange of information is increasingly taking place on an impersonal and very cold level, so that sometimes you can't even look the other person in the eye. Chats, emails, messengers and the like have long been firmly anchored in our lives and make communication easy from almost anywhere. But what importance does such communication actually have? Can this approach really lead to a high-quality and goal-oriented exchange on an emotional level, or is it just the pure exchange of simple information? Is it beneficial to deal with serious problems and discussions exclusively via these silent communication channels? Does this method even achieve the desired result?
Especially when you are supposed to offer your conversation partner advice and support, perhaps to help them solve a problem, this method is often not enough to convey the necessary level of sensitivity and empathy. Emojis and voice notes do not change this. Most of the time, however, nothing changes despite this interim conclusion and you continue to swim down the stream, in the meaningless communication river of the modern age.
During a longer stay in nature, however, you will quickly notice that communication will play a more important role in your interactions. It does not matter whether you are going on a cycling, bushcrafting, hiking or canoeing tour lasting several weeks. During this trip you will notice that messages to the other person will be of a much higher quality and you will be much more able to respond to content. Although you communicate with each other more often at home, this is done against a backdrop that only allows for moderate or no communication. Everyone is surely familiar with the situation when the radio is on in the background, perhaps even your favorite song is playing, and you still have to function and have a conversation. In most cases, the quality is of a poor nature and leaves everyone involved feeling rather tired. Sender and receiver believe they have spoken to each other, but deep down have they really made any progress with their concerns?
You are not confronted with any of this in nature. The main focus is on the here and now and on the people who accompany you into nature. No background noises, no television, no doorbell, no social media notifications coming from your mobile phone. After a long stay in nature, you can quickly feel that the circumstances there trigger more in people than a smart home could ever do. This path back to the original behavioral patterns is becoming more important for more and more people every day because they have missed this effect in their interactions for too long.
view of oneself
Actually, we are given things from a young age that we only begin to question later in life. In our younger years, we are simply not yet able to interpret things for ourselves, make large-scale decisions and continue to think in different ways. Most people initially go along with the daily grind for many years and accept these given circumstances; many even do this their whole lives and feel good about this path.
But on the other hand, there is also an increasingly strong trend that aims to do exactly the opposite. More and more people want to break out of these predetermined structures, paths and behavioral patterns. This breaking away can take different forms. Many decide to take a year off in the form of backpacking or work & travel. Others simply change their place of residence and try to build a new life in another city, perhaps even change their job. And then there are those who seek happiness in nature and, for example, go on long-distance hikes lasting several months in order to finally be able to switch off and clear their heads.
The list could go on and on and certainly needs to be viewed on a very individual basis, but one thing is undisputed – more and more people are going through a change and do not want to simply accept the given circumstances.
In today's world, people have less and less time to think about themselves and, above all, to reflect on themselves. The world we live in has taken on a fast-paced and career-focused character and this flair drives people forward every day - whether they want to or not. School, training, university, workaholic! This seems to be the standardized career path of the modern age.
You have time for everything every day and if you don't, you just make time for it. Business as usual! Your own emotions often have to be pushed to one side. You can also devote yourself to the whole thing in a shortened version in the evening hours, as long as you go to bed early to catch the train to work the next day.
During a longer stay in nature, you will learn to focus more on yourself and also think more about yourself and your life, because here you finally have the time for it and no distracting influences bombarding you. There are no predetermined paths lurking here, just what you have put together for yourself and what really fulfills you. The only path that could lurk here is at most a hiking trail, and you only walk it because you want to walk it and have chosen it yourself. Time in nature can be described as the best free therapy option there is, because here you can sometimes experience such positive leaps of thought that you could never achieve in the urban world.
A group of American environmental psychologists, for example, came to this conclusion. In their study called " Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation ," they examined two groups of test subjects, both of whom suffered from a strong compulsive rumination. This compulsive rumination causes people to be unable to think of anything other than their own mistakes and problems during rumination phases. Such people often also struggle with severe sleep problems, as these rumination attacks can last late into the night. During such attacks, normal thought processes are almost impossible. Everything revolves around rumination at that moment.
At the end of the study, it was found that the group of people who regularly went for walks in nature suffered significantly less from rumination attacks than the group of people who did not regularly spend time in nature . Even the part of the brain that is most likely responsible for mental illnesses was less active in the imaging than in the other group of people. The aim of the study was to identify a connection between urban growth and the increasing number of mental illnesses. Destructive thought patterns could therefore be linked to a lack of experience in nature.
view of nature
Since the advent of technology, nature has been constantly confronted with negative influences, which seem to have increasingly serious consequences from year to year. It doesn't matter whether you look into the nearby forest, look at the lakes and rivers of the world, or simply inhale a good breeze of smog during your next trip to Bangkok, which covers the city in an impenetrable veil every day. Environmental disasters are visible to all of us in our lives, and it doesn't matter whether we see a large extent or just a small part of the huge pollution puzzle.
Asthma seems to be the new number one disease and the countless amounts of smoke, soot, gas and dust that are relentlessly thrown into the air are contributing to this increasing trend. Plastic that has washed up on the beach is almost a daily occurrence on many beaches around the world and is therefore now skillfully ignored by many. As long as you can find a free spot on the beach for your towel and the next cocktail is waiting for you within reach, these small defects are accepted and maneuvered into the background during your vacation.
Once you have internalized the soothing and relaxing vibes of nature over a longer period of time, most people find it very difficult to break away from it again. In retrospect, the experiences and adventures are too positive to be able to distance yourself from them again. For many people, nature before such an experience was often little more than a short walk through the city park or a barbecue in their own garden. Especially because the term "nature" is often so inappropriately categorized these days, the " wow effect " during a first-time stay in real nature is all the more powerful and formative.
Many people realize for the first time ever that nature can offer them everything they have been looking for and missing in their lives for so long. Soothing sounds, fresh air and a green and idyllic backdrop, coupled with an invigorating and motivating mix of exercise and mental organization. This is roughly how a longer stay in nature might be described.
It is precisely this euphoric experience that often leads many people to change their mindset and adopt a more environmentally conscious view. They want to protect what they have come to love and value permanently through their new knowledge, or at least they try to contribute to preserving it with small measures. This change in character can be observed more and more frequently in people who have spent a long time in nature. A more environmentally conscious lifestyle does not necessarily have to be accompanied by a hard-line attitude. After a long outdoor trip, you do not have to chain yourself to the nearest train tracks to try to stop a Castor transport. Rather, it is about consciously controlling smaller things that you may have previously ignored or approached incorrectly and steering them in the right direction that has a more sustainable touch.
This can mean picking up small pieces of rubbish from the ground during a walk in the woods and disposing of them later, or switching from using plastic bags to using your own backpack in the supermarket. Changes don't always have to be aggressive or intrusive to achieve something good. For more and more people who have spent a long time in nature, this reorientation of their own lives is an important daily point that needs to be implemented.
view of material things
The greed for material goods actually begins in childhood. For some, it is stronger than for others, but we are fundamentally guided by a feeling that we want exactly what we have just seen in a brainwashing ad. We also often desire and focus on things that we have noticed in other people, because at the same time we subconsciously compare ourselves to them and then want to be the same.
For many people, this desire for objects remains deeply rooted in their character traits throughout their lives, meaning that they have to align their entire lives with this urge. Strict adherence to one's career path is closely linked to this lifestyle, as this is the only way to have the necessary cash in one's pocket later on to be able to devote oneself to one's urge to buy. In addition to these learned compulsions, there are often social norms that reinforce this lifestyle.
Build a house, buy a car, earn money!
Many people only feel complete and socially accepted if they follow these guidelines and implement them in a first-class manner. For more and more people, it feels as if they are being laced into a tight corset from the start. There is enough room to breathe, but over time this does not necessarily turn out to be satisfactory. Even buying a new pair of shoes cannot change this feeling.
You will appreciate the little things in life more during a longer stay in nature. Surrounded by huge mountain ranges and gigantic, sometimes ancient trees, you will realise that as a human being you are simply very small in comparison - and that is a good thing! In too many situations you take yourself too seriously and you want to show and communicate this to the outside world by any means possible - including with regard to the urge for material things. In nature it is more about getting by with the means you have and making the best of the situation.
On long-distance hiking trails, for example, it is not uncommon to reach the next town after 5-6 days and only then can you enjoy civilization. It is precisely in situations like this that you quickly realize what is really important in life and that you have spent far too much time searching for material goods over the years. You realize that the food you have prepared in your backpack tastes good even without an oven, stove or refrigerator.
You also notice that you can easily get up in the morning without a cell phone alarm and even the night on the mattress in the tent was quite comfortable, even though you didn't have the new €300 mattress topper made of 7-zone foam with you. And even though you missed your favorite film last night, the evening in front of the campfire was still very entertaining and memorable.
Day by day and week by week, the findings add up to a conclusion that speaks volumes. Many people realize, as if they had regained their sight after a long time, that happiness had been defined incorrectly for years. You suddenly appreciate it when you reach the city after 6 days and buy yourself an ice-cold Coke in the supermarket.
What used to be a standardized and lazy trip to the fridge now turns out to be pure joy, coupled with a subsequent explosion of taste. You finally learn to focus on the little things in life again and to appreciate them. You also realize that many people may never get to enjoy such things and how monotonous the previous approach actually was.
Through the influences of nature, you get the first-class opportunity to question things and redesign them for yourself. The use of material goods will take on a different guise after such a profound experience.
