According to a study in the current issue of Environmental Science & Technology, you can boost your self-esteem just by spending five minutes outside in a “green activity” such as gardening, going for a bike ride, or walking through the grass. Effects were particularly strong in green areas with water, such as a placid lake or flowing stream.
What a quick, easy way to boost self-esteem! We’re not being asked to spend an entire weekend at a posh retreat, or to pay for expensive weekly sessions with a self-esteem guru. We can just spend five short minutes in a park, or a garden, or a field, or any other green outdoor setting. We can shake off the unnatural feeling of being stuck in a cubicle, or a car, or our daily manmade routines:
- “I worked in my cubicle so I could pay for my house in Windsor, and I looked at that situation, sold the house, sold the car, quit the cubicle and kept the sailboat.” – George Young
- “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it…. People think pleasing God is all God care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.” – Alice Walker, The Color Purple
- “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. “ – John Muir
Carve out 5 minutes today for a green activity!
Good info as usual Dr Deb,
Today is one of those days in Boston that makes long Winter almost worth it. It is pristine I will be taking my lunch in about 5 minutes down by the Charles.
Keep the Peace
Tom
This is wonderful advice!
Blessings,
Pragito
Thanks Tom and Pragito!
Tom, lunch by the Charles on a beautiful Boston day sounds like heaven — hope you enjoyed it! Here in Florida, we live on a little lake and eat outside as often as possible before the weather gets really brutally hot (which is pretty much now….)
Hope you're both having a great week!