Reconnecting With Nature

Last week I went for a walk with a friend of mine. We've both been inside a lot so far this year, her tackling assignments for new qualifications and me completing case studies for a behaviour journal. We both found that we were becoming increasingly lacking in energy, motivation, and enjoyment and that getting out for a lovely walk was just what we needed.

Standing on the top of the mountain, surrounded by the ocean, the wind grasping at our hair and chilling I faces, we both began to feel quite emotional. One of my most favourite things to do at the summit is to nap!  I lay down and put my hands on the ground, feeling the rock's warmth and allowing its energy to envelop me. I took deep breaths filling my lungs with the sea air and washing away the stale, stressful vapors I had allowed to pollute my body over the past few weeks.  The silent roar of the wind and deep, spiritual peace lulled me into a meditative sleep, until the cold added urgency to finding a more sheltered spot for lunch!

My friend and I began reflecting on the importance of being out in nature; I know it seems to be a hot topic, but it truly is one of the most important things we can do with our time.

 Studies continue to show that nature can:

• Help us improve our thinking, our reasoning and other mental abilities.
• It can improve our physical wellness: raising our heart rate, and getting us moving, (I've recently bought a step counting watch, and I was deeply mortified by the poor number of steps I seem to take each day when not out hiking with the ponies!)
• This movement and being out in nature also reduces our cortisol levels and muscle tension, lowers our heart rate and blood pressure it’s even been linked to leading to lower rates of heart disease.

My friend and I really felt the effect on our mental health. We'd both been feeling fairly anxious, with lots of pressure lots to do lots, trying to find our way, and being out on that mountain, surrounded by the wind with freezing cold ears helped decrease anxiety, stress and feelings of frustration. We began to feel whole again, connected as if we were back where we belonged.

This week it was announced that Finland, for the eighth year in a row, has been named the world's happiest country. Now happiness can be different things to different people so it's been suggested that maybe we should use the word ‘contentment’ as a better fit in this case-a steady, deep sense of satisfaction with one's own life, rather than fleeting joy.

Spending time outdoors is deeply embedded in the Finnish psyche no matter what the season even in the depths of winter fins head out to ski, ice skate, watch the Northern Lights, or plunge into frozen lakes after a sauna. Thanks to the ‘everyman's rights’ common to all Nordic countries, everyone is free to roam forests, lakes, and countryside whether for hiking, berry picking or just breathing in the crisp air, just like we are here up in the Scottish Highlands.

When I'm helping students build a closer relationship with their horses one of the key components is to spend time in nature both with their horses and on their own. We cannot hope to support our horses if our minds are full of stress, anxiety and tension. But so often the argument is that there is no time to be still and focus on the horses, there are too many jobs, too much work, and too few daylight hours, all of which are very valid reasons and ones that I find myself slipping into, especially in the winter months. However, if we take a leaf out of Finland’s book prioritise time in nature, embrace simplicity, normalise rest and relaxation, invest in lifelong learning and build trust in your community, your tribe, surely these are the building blocks to true contentment, connection with both nature and our horses. Maybe then we'll see that there is no them in us, we are all one nature, one incredible, compassionate, connected being.