Are you inside or outside right now? Re-thinking nature connection and our relationship with nature.
By Rachel Musson
Are you inside or outside right now?
I remember being asked this question by Dr Stephan Harding during a lecture taking place inside a large indoor theatre, and worrying he was losing the plot. When we all collectively murmured “We’re inside, Stephan…” he nodded and then asked us once again: “Are you outside or inside right now?” Still confident that seat F12 in the sixth row of the Tobacco Factory theatre was definitely an indoor location, I – along with the rest of the audience – repeated my answer confidently. “We’re inside. Definitely inside.”
Oh, how wrong we were…
_________________
I’ve just come back from a week in Snowdonia and am feeling so energised and connected to the world. Having finally treated myself to a really good pair of waterproof trousers (and realised what a gamechanger they are during a week of torrential rain) I’ve spent almost every daylight hour this holiday frolicking in the mountains and valleys of the Welsh mountains. And yet, by stepping out the door every morning and coming home when it got dark, I’ve actually been inside the entire time: completely and utterly inside of life.
What Stephan explained to us that morning in the theatre – and what has been a guiding awareness for myself ever since - is that the moment we step ‘inside’ a building and close the doors or windows, we are literally shutting ourselves ‘outside of the world’. Whenever we come indoors, conversely we find ourselves outside of life.
I remember listening to this and understanding on an unconscious level exactly what he was talking about. It reminded me of a conversation I’d had a decade previously with my then Head of Department, Nigel Tattersfield, about how absurd it was that humans spent most of their time living in the world stuck inside boxes. As he explained, we wake up inside a box (aka. the bedroom) then shuffle around from one box to another inside our giant boxes (our houses) before getting into smaller boxes (e.g. cars, buses, trains etc.) to travel to another box (work) where the majority of folks then spend the day seated with their heads inside squares (computers), trapped inside the boxes of the mind.
>>On a side note, one of the reasons that ThoughtBox was called ThoughtBox was inspired by this conversation with dear Nigel, as well as an invitation for us to be ‘thinking outside the box’ and questioning some of the stories that are shaping our current paradigms.
Connection happens when we step into life and allow ourselves to connect with ourselves, each other and the rest of nature. We belong ‘inside’ the natural world quite simply because human beings are nature. We are physically entwined with the natural cycles, systems and processes of all other living beings – even sharing similar cells to many other species on our planet. Did you know that we share 96% of our DNA with a chimpanzee, 80% with a cow, 70% with a mouse and even 60% with a banana! It’s not at all surprising that neuroscience can now ‘prove’ why being in nature is so utterly and transformationally good for us on a physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual level. Being in nature – being inside the world - is where we are most connected to life and where we can feel whole.
Our beings naturally feel happier and healthier when we spend time in nature. Exposure to nature activates the parasympathetic nervous system – the branch of the nervous system related to a “resting” state - which instils a sense of calm and feelings of wellbeing that enable us to think more clearly and positively. Many of us know that ‘taking a walk’ is a great way to think through problems or find creative inspiration and we can now prove how being in nature offers such tonic for our brains; transforming our memory, imagination and logic. According to the biophilia hypothesis, humans will always feel and function better in natural environments because our brains and bodies evolved in, and with, the rest of the natural world. We are born to connect with life and be part of something much, much bigger than our individual selves.
Even when I’m not meandering around Welsh mountains, I spend a large amount of time each day ‘inside’ (aka outside the house) as I have recognised – since incorporating walks, sit-spots, meanderings in the woods into my daily rhythms – that my sense of wellbeing, positivity, clarity and connectivity is consistently high. Yet it is not just for wellness that I spend so much time out of the house; it is to feel deeply and wholly part of life. Finding wonder in the infinite beauty of this world has allowed me to fall so deeply in love with life that there is no choice other than to care for it with every fibre of my being.
We know that if people fall in love with the rest of nature, they'll be more likely to look after it. A recent study into Nature Connectedness published by the National Trust with the University of Derby found that people who regularly connect with nature were more likely to be actively responding to the climate and nature crisis that we all face. Being connected with and noticing natural phenomenon every day supports higher levels of wellbeing and a deeper sense care for the planet – which in turn supports a healthier world for us all. Everyone needs nature because everyone is nature, and being ‘inside’ and connected with all life is essential for the wellbeing of ourselves and the wider world.
We’re only as healthy as the world we live in – and when we begin to understand that our own wellbeing is intricately tied to the wellbeing of others and the planet, the invitation to be caring for and connecting with life around us is ever more resonant.
And so, my resolution for the year ahead is to be ‘inside life’ as much as I possibly can and to support schools to be shifting minds, bodies and hearts ‘outside the box’ and immersing children inside the world as often as possible.