Our Society's Health in Connection with Nature

Growing up in Pennsylvania, I always had a desire to be in nature. I would make forts in the trees, play games about being a wilderness adventurer, and take my many animals for walks. I remember frequently going to this one spot where the tree line would open up to a large field, the breeze would flow across my face and I always felt like I would build a house right in the middle some day. My childhood has had a large impact on what my artwork is about. The natural environment has always made me feel at home, even if I was in a completely different state. It's odd I know. But, in order to really find out what kind of statement I want to make with my work, I have to truly let my "freak flag" fly high.


In my continued research, I stumbled upon a very fascinating article called "The Science Behind How Nature Affects Your Health" by Bill Frist who is a former U.S Senate Majority Leader, and chairman of the Executive Council of the health service at the firm Cressey & Company and is also a lung and heart transplant surgeon. Quite the credentials! He explains how nature affects us and how much healthier people could be if they just walked in the forest or even in a neighborhood park. In the break down of what affects our health, the healthcare system can provide only 10 % while our environmental situations account for 20 %, that's double the amount! The other 70% percent being divided up between genetics, and individual behaviors.

A study done by the 2006 American Scientist had shown that being in a stressful situation like a traffic-jammed street caused the brain to react by triggering the adrenal glands to release cortisol. This affects our learning capacity, memory, blood pressure, produces more anxiety and can increase our risk of heart disease and weight gain to name a few side affects. Nature is an effective solution to this problem as it affects our brains visual cortex by producing the mu (opioid) receptors causing us to have a pleasurable experience and make us calm. Frist also goes on to explain how children that grew up with a park in the surrounding area are more healthier and happier. Where you are located is not the only situation that causes these problems, it can also be your work place, and relationships.


Now I have personally known all these factors because of my experience with being in nature. I just never really researched if anyone else was interested in the affects nature can have on humans until about three years ago. It forces us to live in the present instead of dwelling about something that happened that day or a decision that you don't really want to make yet. Whenever I am having a mental breakdown, I know I just need some time to get into the forest and get out of my own head. As my time outdoors increases, I come to realize that what I was so worried about doesn't really matter! Like at all. Okay maybe a tiny bit but dwelling over it isn't going to make the outcome different, only make me even more concerned. So why I am letting this stressful situation consume my whole being? This is where I have really started to let it go and trust myself and God. When I was traveling around Montana by myself in a rented Kia Soul (like hey thanks rental company, I'm sure I wont get stuck in a muddy ditch somewhere) I just kept saying, "God won't take you anywhere where he can't protect you." Now I realize bad things happen every day every minute but I am still here and did not become lunch or dinner. That trip changed my life. All I did was drive, hike, and eat any food I could store in a cooler for a large amount of time. I was outside most of the day and only went inside when I was ready to pass out. I gained more confidence in my abilities, as well as me as a human, and my whole outlook on life, a lot of demons left me on that trip.


Another thing Frist talks about is a study conducted in 1984 of hospital patients and how green spaces can decrease the amount of time they spend in a hospital. According to one report by the Economics of Biophilia, if every room would have a large window that exhibited a natural landscape instead of a nice view of another building with other people laying in hospital beds, it would cut 8.5 % of patients time spent there in half which would save 93 millions dollars each year when applied to the average amount of days spent. Lets get on that America ! The sad thing is that only a few doctors actually recommend nature as a healing process. Nature releases endorphins into the body to make us happy, the same way a good hardy laugh does.


If anyone would like to know more, I would really recommend reading the article, it is a great one! One aspect I am incorporating into my ceramic work is how nature can affect our lives in a positive way. Not only does it release all those good things into our bodies but it makes us live in the moment instead of being caught up by things that are in the past. I replicate these feelings by being captivated by bold and uncommon textures not found on everyday items. As always, I am trying to push these ideas in new directions to inspired new ways of working and forms of movement for my pots. Keep pushing my friends! Don't allow things to be in your life that have no right to be there. Nature will be your first advocate for that; as I have tried it, lived it, and learned it and now I am trying to share my findings so that everyone can live a happier, and healthier life. Wander.