When was the last time you were completely surrounded by nature, not just a park wedged between office towers, but somewhere real, somewhere your phone doesn’t quite work and the silence feels full instead of empty, where maybe it was a long walk through the woods or just sitting on the edge of a porch, coffee in hand, letting the breeze move through your hair while the birds offered their own version of a soundtrack that didn’t need editing.

That kind of moment doesn’t just feel good—it actually does something to you, even if you don’t notice it right away, and while I’m not always one to dig up research just to prove a point I already feel in my bones, this time I did, and turns out, there’s a lot of data backing it up—like this study out of Exeter that followed 20,000 people across all kinds of backgrounds, ages, and health statuses, and found that folks who spent at least two hours a week in nature reported feeling healthier, and not just in a vague, wouldn’t-it-be-nice kind of way, but actually and measurably better, even when their time was broken up over the week.

We’re talking real physiological changes here, not some imagined placebo—Florida Health connected time outside with lower blood pressure, steadier cortisol levels, stronger immune systems, and Japanese researchers even clocked an increase in NK cell activity, the kind that goes after tumors, while over at McMaster University, students are literally encouraged to step outside for better cognitive function, like sunshine and tree-lined paths are part of their unofficial syllabus.

Here is an interesting study to check out: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17903349/

But honestly, I’ve felt this long before I ever read about it—when I was a kid, I used to walk the railroad tracks near my house when everything at home got too loud or too tense, just listening to the wind in the trees and the birds doing their thing, sometimes even letting myself cry if I needed to, and back then I didn’t know that was called self-regulation or anything fancy like that, I just knew it helped, and to this day I still walk in the rain and hug trees—literally, not metaphorically—because there’s something about that connection that feels like it resets something in me.

The real issue isn’t that nature stopped working its quiet magic—it’s that we stopped showing up for it, getting caught up in all this concrete and glass and signal noise while the oxygen-rich spaces our bodies were built for get pushed further away, and places like Nicoya, Costa Rica remind us that it doesn’t have to be this way because they live longer out there, not because of some secret supplement or productivity hack, but because they never stepped too far from the ground beneath their feet.

So if the sun calls to you, go, even if it’s just for ten minutes, and don’t wait for some perfect excuse or polished routine, because there’s no badge for clenching your jaw through another checklist, but there is, quietly, steadily something real about stepping outside with no agenda and letting the air remind you of the version of yourself that doesn’t always need fixing.

Whenever I start to get caught up in the busyness of life and forget to “look around once in a while”, I notice my wellbeing declining. So I have prescribed myself a list, where I have to complete all items on the list until I can feel unhappy. I have found the source for a lot of my happiness, being the detachment from our ancestral way of living and conforming to the day to day activities which have come about from the industrial and information age.

So here is my list:

  • Eat a nutritious meal.

Unfortunately, our biology being crafted for millions of years, has not developed the skill of quick iterations to adapt to these drastic changes in our lifestyle. For cereals, donuts and other processed foods which have become staples in some cultures diets, is not exactly the most optimal fuesl which our bodies have been programmed to run off of.😢

(for me I like high protein and low carb meals)

  • Elevate my heart rate.

The are couple additives for this prescription. Preferrably the exercise should be done in nature, trying at all time to substitute the treadmill for a run in the park. And perform movements which I enjoy, tennis is my go to. The more you enjoy it the more likely you will do it (simple human behaviour)

  • Engage in conversation

We are social creatures. We need to interact with one another and empty the build of anxious thoughts, when not released can drive us crazy.

Everytime I perform the items on this to do this list, I always have a greater peace of mind. A hidden propoerty of these items , is it can be performed in sequence. For example, inviting a friend to play tennis, fqacilitates banter and the catching up with the crazinesss and drama of eachothers lives, whilst you run and jump to get a ball inside the legal part of the opposition court. Additionally, after exerting calories I am typically famished, my favourite meal in this scenario is steak, eggs coupled with some avocado on the side. (quite carnivorious I know).

I believe everyone should craft their own list, which they test with themselves until finding the secret recipe. There are many others which I could have included, being:

  • Removing myself from devices.
  • Go exploring, do some adventurous.

But when extending the list, it invites complications and feelings of obligation to complete them, rather instrinsic desire.

All the best for crafting your own lists. Good luck.