From the bookshelf | The Nature Fix
Sitting down and reading a book is one of my favourite simple pleasures in life. I aim to make space in my week to settle down with a cup of herbal tea, a notebook, a blanket draped over my knees, and a book of my choosing. I adore the feeling I get when I have a new book in my hands, the smell of the paper, the enticing cover, and a knowing that in a few moments I’m going to be able to dive into a different world for a few moments of my day.
This year will see more books shared in this space. I have a continually growing list of books on my wish list and a stack at home that I am now working through whilst our little one is fast asleep, either early mornings or odd moments in the day. You’ll notice that I mainly read non-fiction. I think it is the inner nerdy researcher in me that loves to gather knowledge and have a passion for learning.
I asked for The Nature Fix - Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative by Florence Williams for my birthday last April and started reading it. I put it to one side to finish my studies last year and read books about birth, and decided to pick this book up again in December when I had a little more headspace and a few moments in the day I could dip in. I finished reading it in mid-January and wanted to share my thoughts with you.
The connection and excitement I had about this book was one of the strongest I have had in a long time. I have been longing to understand how my own experience of being in nature makes me feel better, and how walking clears my head. I’ve been trying to understand how a deep connection to the natural world helped me become mentally healthier at a time in my 20s when I needed healing. Being in nature changed everything for me, it enabled me to connect back to who I was. I knew that it was down to how I was connecting with my senses, getting fresh air and doing something that I was passionate about that made small shifts in how I was showing up in the world and feeling more inspired creatively by the seasons. I wanted to understand really what was going on. The self healing I did in nature set me on a route of discovering how I could help others connect their creativity, nature and living a wholesome life and how I journeyed to become a seasonal coach for creativity seekers. I have a keen interest in Forest Therapy and Horticultural Therapy and I wanted to understand more scientifically, about why walking and being amongst nature and urban gardening enabled me to feel at peace and heal and clear my mind. Over the past few years I started seeking out books about nature to find some answers and The Nature Fix was one of them.
The Nature Fix was able to answer so much for me, there were moments of realisation as I saw myself in elements of the book. It felt comforting understanding and reading about the science behind our historical connection to nature, and I’m sure that most readers will have an ah-ha moment of their own reading it. The Nature Fix sees Florence deep diving into all aspects of research and studies about being in nature. She heads to forests all over the world to soak up experiences, taking part in data collection and studies to see how nature impacts on her and observing wider studies taking place. Deeply rooted in science, research and interviews with leading scientists, as well as more casual interactions with people in the studies, this book provides an incredible commentary and round up of the research about the beneficial impacts of nature on human health.
Written in a relaxed tone, it feels like Florence is sitting next to you telling her story about her travels to forests and natural spaces around the world. There’s a humour and lightheartedness and informal nature to her writing style and I loved the ease of reading each part of the book. The balance of her understanding of the research she had discovered, and her own experience interacting within the experiments and studies, provides an approachable way to discover and understand more. It certainly left me wanting to seek out more, and as I read I took notes of some of her references to explore further for myself.
If you are at all curious about reading about why nature makes us feel better and more creative this is a great book to start your journey with.