Happy Mother's Day: Mother Nature (Original Post)

   This post is dedicated to all mothers, including the mother of all, Mother Nature. Many of us overlook nature on a daily basis and don't take the time to appreciate everything mother nature provides for us. Our world has taken mother nature's resources for granted, and because of this mother nature is suffering. I encourage everyone on this day to spread awareness and fight for and protect mother nature from corporations who want to privatize water, clear cut forests, and abuse earth's other natural resources. With growing population and urbanization, earth's resources are being strained and it's time we take a approach towards a sustainable future. If we continue on this path of self destruction, 50% of the world's species will face extinction by the end of this century (read more about that here)

   Everyone knows that plants provide us with oxygen, but did you know being in nature can actually have restorative healing effects on one's physical and mental health? Being in nature, or even viewing pictures of natural scenery, reduces anxiety, depression, anger, fear, and stress and increases pleasant feelings. This leads to many physical benefits such as reduced blood pressure, reduced muscle tension and reduced production of stress hormones. Studies were also conducted using fMRI to measure brain activity, when participants viewed nature scenes, the parts of the brain associated with empathy and love showed increased activity, but when they viewed urban scenes, the parts of the brain associated with fear and anxiety were activated. Another study at the University of Illinois suggests that residents in Chicago public housing who have trees and natural scenery near their building reported having stronger feelings of unity with neighbors, being more concerned with helping and supporting each other, and having stronger feelings of belonging. The presence of natural elements is also linked to higher levels of happiness at work, in comparison to work spaces without any natural scenery. A study also reported levels of well-being and productivity that were 13% and 8% higher (Source)

   For me personally, I am a biophiliac (look it up) and I believe living in harmony with nature is a really important part of life, it's proven to have benefits. Nature truly is our mother the way she loves us, looks out for us, and provides for us, it's time we provide for and protect the mother of all life: Mother Nature. If you love nature and want to reap its benefits I recommend you read the books “Your Brain On Nature” written by Eva M. Selhub MD and Alan C. Logan ND and “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder” written by Richard Louv. 

   This was just a quick short post for mother's day, I have an essay on this topic (nature's health benefits) which I will be posting in the next few days so keep an eye out for that! Also if you haven't read my introduction post yet you can read that here  

 If you liked this post and love mother nature don't forget to follow and click upvote, if you have any suggestions please feel free to comment below, thank you for reading :)

Peace & Love 

(All pictures are from my trip to Crawford Lake Conservation Area)