Far too many people fail to recognise the importance of mother nature, choosing to dwell amongst the hustle and bustle of fog filled cities rather than in a calm, quiet rural location.
The disconnection between man and the earth is growing each and every day, and this becomes apparent when you consider the now widespread inability to spend any more than a couple of days out in ‘the wild’ without failing miserably. Luckily, learning how to appreciate the great outdoors needn’t be as difficult as you might expect, as there are a few key areas in which you can focus your efforts to reconnect with nature in no time at all.
Start a kitchen garden or learn to forage
One of the biggest influencing factors that has pushed society further away from mother nature is food. The sheer volume of artificial, over processed foods that are so easily accessible in every store and on every street corner are not only causing widespread health epidemics such as obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol, but also encouraging a general distaste for healthy, natural produce. Unfortunately many people avoid natural foods and fail to consume their 5-a-day. Even when you do head to the store to buy a piece of fruit, you’ll likely be chowing down onto a whole host of preservatives, fertilisers and pesticides that won’t benefit your mind or body in the slightest.
In order to combat this issue, you can choose to start creating your own kitchen garden in which you can grow your own produce, and even head outdoors to forage for some free, natural food in your local area. A kitchen garden contains all manner of plants from fruits to vegetables, herbs and so much more. The kinds of food that you can grow will depend on your local climate, as well as the time and effort you’re willing to put into your plants. Watching a seedling grow into a flourishing plant due to your hard work and commitment is so rewarding, and you’ll be far more inclined to eat your own fresh fruit and veg when you needn’t even head further than your garden for an easy snack. Foraging can be such a brilliant experience, as well as an amazing learning opportunity. It’s a good idea to purchase some reading materials that you can use as a reference to ensure you don’t pick any foods that aren’t meant for human consumption!
Stay under the stars
Planning your own camping expedition that allows you to stay underneath the stars can be a wonderful way to reconnect with nature. Hooking up an off road camper trailer to your car or truck will give you all the facilities that you need to spend weeks in the wild without missing any of your creature comforts, but you can even choose to sleep rough with nothing more than a campfire if the weather’s right! Switching off from all things modern day, including smartphones, for a stay under the stars will be such an inspiring experience that encourages you to reconnect more deeply with the natural world.