Beach, mountain, forest, or somewhere else entirely?
To me connecting with nature is healing. I attempt to do it everyday even if only for 5 minutes. It clears my head. Any form of nature will do—smelling a flower on a short walk or a day trip to the beach or mountains. I love them all. As a child I spent many hours at the beach as well as walking in the bush so both have pleasant memories attach.
The higher my intensity of stress the more I will ensure that I take time out of my day to walk barefoot on the grass for 5 minutes. My other easy to go to places are the river, Sydney harbour, local parks or wetlands—all are close to my work or home. Half an hour in the silence does the trick of dealing with my stress nicely.
Last Christmas we wanted to experience nature in a different way and left sunny Australia for the cold winters of Canada. While we enjoyed our time there, it was only our last week that allowed us to experience the force of nature in this way—snow and ice. The first 5 weeks were above average temperatures and it was the first green Christmas in over a quarter century. Our proof that mother nature is to be enjoyed not controlled—she will always win.
