Grounding in Nature
My son, Will, was home this past weekend recovering from having his wisdom teeth removed on Friday. My husband, Bryce, and I are seasoned empty-nesters with six years’ practice in fully commanding our household, setting our own schedules, coming and going as we please, dining at odd hours (and not very formally).
Will is our youngest, our only boy, “Mom’s favorite” (our daughters would say) so you can imagine the pampering he received while lying on our sofa, remote in hand watching soccer and re-watching episodes of “The Pacific.”
Although sore and a little woozy, Will made sure to walk outside each day, barefoot, and step onto and into the grass to feel the earth beneath his feet. This is called “grounding” or “earthing” and he professes that he, “immediately feels saturated with energy and calm.”
Not an early adopter of anything, I’m skeptical of the health claims, but I do know there is some kind of magic in connecting with nature. I can’t claim miraculous healing, but I’ve known since my teenage years that I needed to be outside, breathe fresh air, listen to tree leaves rustling in the wind every day, even if just for a few minutes. As I write in my book:
“Sitting on the front stoop of the East Shaulis Road house as a teenager, I remember looking across the road at the rows of corn waving to and fro in unison as if dancing to a swoony song in the warm summer breeze. I smelled the faint scent of fresh cut grass mixed with a waft of my friend’s pig farm down the road and listened to the birds chirping and flitting at the feeder in front of the family room window. I wanted this feeling to last forever. I may not have known much about what I wanted for myself, but I vowed then to go outside to experience nature each day of the rest of my life.”
When was the last time you walked barefoot on freshly cut grass, went sandal-less on a beach’s foamy remains of the incoming surf, or squished your toes in mud after a rain shower?
Immersing yourself in nature calms the nervous system and reduces cortisol (AKA, the stress hormone). It’s also linked to more generosity, cooperation, kindness, creativity, social connection, and resilience—not to mention less nervousness, anxiety and fear.
