Reconnecting with Nature

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of vacationing and writing and I must say I had an excellent time on vacay. Nothing like getting out on the water and soaking up some sun.

I hope you are able to get out and enjoy this awesome summer weather, too. Winter is coming and school is just around the corner for my guys. This school year is going to be different. Masks are recommended, but not required and the students will have to try and maintain a social distance of six feet.

I’m not ready for back to school. We’re returning this year a week earlier than we normally do and I feel we’ve been cheated out of some of our summer. I’m sure my boys feel the same way.

But enough about that, today I’d like to talk about the human connection with the Earth. I find it amazing that we can go for a hike in the woods or a walk along the beach and our spirits lift. They do. I’ve experienced it myself. We’ve forgotten about that connection in our hurry to build and create.

As a society we need to slow down and reconnect with nature.  I feel everything we need we can get from the earth. It provides food and water and by walking in the woods or on the beach we can improve our overall health.

It’s true, the trees in the woods release phytoncides. They’re a defense mechanism against fungus, bacteria, and even animals. These compounds are good for humans as well. According to one study, they enhanced the destructive mechanism in our cells that kill the cell when its time has run out. It also enhanced the anti-cancer proteins production.  Now that is good news.

To put this in layman’s terms, breathing in phytoncides enhances our own natural defenses.  I think this is incredible. It supports the theory that we’re all connected, with each other, and with nature.

Being in nature is also a great stress reliever as well. Studies have found that the stress hormone cortisol is lower when walking in nature. It also puts you in a meditative state and allows your creativity to flow.

Not only is walking in the woods good for you, but so is walking on the beach. Getting out into the sun is a great way to increase the Vitamin D in your system. That’s one major health benefit of going to the beach, but it’s also a great stress reliever. When you get near the water and hear the waves breaking on the shore, it releases serotonin in your system. Serotonin is a key hormone for relaxation and happiness.

Walking on the beach isn’t just good for our mental health, it’s good for our physical health as well. If you’re near the ocean the saltwater has anti-bacterial antibodies in it. So, if you have a wound that needs to be cleansed. Dip it in the ocean. Salt water also contains iodine which is a great antiseptic. It’s also an amazing immune system booster. It helps the thyroid gland do its job which boosts our immune system.

With all these health benefits, why would become the indoor generation? Technology has taken us out of the fields and put us inside and it has been detrimental to our health. We need to take our health back and reconnect with nature. We also need to take care of the Earth. With all the health benefits it provides it’s a key element to our survival, wouldn’t you agree?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. Don’t you think getting back to nature is vital for us humans? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Let’s be like the Trees

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy week with work and Christmas shopping and plans. It’s the last weekend before Christmas and we’ve finally got a vaccine being delivered. So, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for this pandemic. But I don’t want to talk about any of that today because frankly, I’m sick of the pandemic. Today, I’d like to talk about connections. I read an article yesterday and the jist of the article was that trees in a forest communicate with each other through their root systems, and they can even recognize their offspring.  To read the article click this link:

https://www.treehugger.com/trees-talk-each-other-and-recognize-their-offspring-4858710?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mobilesharebutton2&fbclid=IwAR2sA4svv4TA6ANYVpeKblEauIHaYQOexMAhfu2Gq3YRuEqrBFsYbKoHdlA

Trees Talk to Each Other

Their root systems are kind of like their own internet. 😊

https://allthefreestock.com/

To me, this is evidence. Evidence that we’re all connected. That the actions of one causes a ripple effect in the universe. Now, the thing about the trees is that they take care of each other. They don’t spew hate along their root system. They send nutrients and healing vibes to their neighbors. Of course, they take extra special care of their offspring which coincides with us taking care of our family.

https://allthefreestock.com/

This is something we as humans need to emulate. We need to resist acting on our negative emotions. I know this is hard. I have negative emotions, too. But what if we resisted and tried to focus only on the positive. When something negative comes up try to give the other person some grace. They may be dealing with some incredibly difficult issues that they haven’t shared with you.

I also believe we need to practice forgiveness. It’s hard to forgive especially when the person who wronged you doesn’t believe they’ve done anything wrong. It’s hard to forgive someone like that, however, you need to forgive them for you. Holding a grudge is poison. It doesn’t mean you have to continue to take their abuse. You have to do your best to protect yourself even if it means removing yourself from the situation. But do it with grace. Try not to damage the other person too much. They’re already damaged. They wouldn’t have done what they did to you, if they weren’t. Remember that. We’re all broken. Some of us a little and some of us a lot.

https://allthefreestock.com/

I know this seems to go against the theme of this post. Connection, but, I it really doesn’t. If someone who’s abusive to you loses you. Maybe they’ll get help. Maybe they’ll become healthier because you’re leaving was the catalyst for change. So, even when we leave a relationship, we can inspire another person to change and grow. Then when that person gets into another relationship they can do better. It’s the ripple effect.  Let’s try and be like the trees and send positive ripples through our root system and see what kind of world we can create.

https://allthefreestock.com/

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. How do you stay connected to your loved ones? Leave a comment, I love hearing from you!

P.S.

I saw this on Facebook this morning and thought it was appropriate to add to this post!

Wednesday Inspiration

I saw this on Facebook and it resonated with me. Have a great Wednesday! Stay strong butterflies!! ❤

The Orchards at the Orchard and Thoughts on Saving the Bees

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you!  I’m back after an awesome Saturday spent at the Apple Orchard. Some of us moms got together and we took our sons to one that was close to home.

It was the perfect fall day. A crisp breeze blew our hair back, but it left us with that sharp, fresh cleanness that only a brisk wind can. The sun was out, but it didn’t take the chill away. It was perfect for playing games, hot cider, and donuts.

We’re trying to get outside as much as we can before winter’s hibernation. The theory this year is we’re going to have a snowy one. According to one source, the Great Lakes are the warmest they’ve ever been and as a result we’re supposed to get more snow. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve got my fingers crossed for snow days. I’m just as bad as my kids on that one. 🙂

We’ve been fortunate, these last two seasons have been awesome. We had that hot, steamy weather that I love in the summer, and because of it, we made some awesome memories at the lake. I witnessed some beautiful sunsets and some glorious starry nights.

I’m awe-struck by the beauty of the Universe. Our Planet is amazing. I see it when I go on hikes or take my kids to the orchard, don’t you? I always take a minute to stop and breath in the crisp or humid air (depending on the season), then I take in the bright colors of autumn or the brilliant shades of the setting sun.

I enjoy my hikes alone because I’m able to think about the stories I’m writing and solve plot issues, walking in nature does that for me.  But when we went to the orchard, I was glad I had the other moms with me. We got to bond and the boys deepened their friendship with each other. I’m grateful they’ve found some great friends, and I’m excited to see all of them grow up together. I hope they stay friends forever. 🙂

When I think about my boys and their friends and the future they may have, I wonder about what kind of world we’re leaving them. I hope we leave our kids with a healthy planet and not a dying one. We need to save the bees. Without them, there would be no apple orchards or wonderful autumn colors. Our plant life would die off, and trees would stop growing which means our oxygen supply is in peril.

Photo credit: Pinti 1 via Visualhunt / CC BY

Did you know that honeybees and wild bees are the pollinators of the majority of the crops we eat? Out of 100 crop species that provide us with 90% of our global food supply, 71 are bee pollinated. Check out this article for more info http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/17/opinion/spivak-loss-of-bees/

What can we do to save the bees? We can plant flowers that aren’t contaminated by pesticides. We need to feed the bees so they can feed us. So we can enjoy our wonderful nature walks and all the pollinated fruits and vegetables they provide. Let’s leave the Earth a beautiful place for our future generations.

 

Photo via Visual hunt

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. If you have any suggestions on what we can do to save the bees, leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

To check out some other Slice of Life Posts, click here.